Amy Schumer Dominates Comedy On Her Own Terms
Amy Schumer is everywhere. She’s hosting award shows, presenting Emmys, winning Emmys, covering magazines, signing book deals, hosting SNL, playing Madison Square Garden, writing movies, starring in movies, and this week, releasing her biggest comedy special to date, Amy Schumer: Live at The Apollo on HBO. So does this mean she’s peaked and on her way out? The answer is a big resounding ‘No.’
Amy Schumer is only new to the general public; comedy fans have known her for years. She didn’t find success overnight, she’s actually been working her tail off for several years. Here’s a quick timeline of the ladder she’s been climbing to the top:
Schumer performed her first stand-up gig in June of 2004 at the Gotham Comedy Club. She later went on to film an episode of Live at Gotham for Comedy Central, which she then thought was her big break. (Joke’s on you, Amy!)
Her first audition for the NBC show Last Comic Standing was unsuccessful, but Schumer made it onto the show for its fifth season and placed fourth. She went on to co-star in a reality show on Comedy Central called Reality Bites Back, and her first Comedy Central special aired in April 2010.
Outside of Comedy Central, Schumer has had guest spots on 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Girls, as well as appearing in the independent comedies Price Check, Seeking A Friend For The End of The World (starring Steve Carell and Kiera Knightley), and Mike Birbiglia’s Sleep Walk With Me. Amy also took part in the Comedy Central Roast of Charlie Sheen back when he was busy #winning and The Comedy Central Roast of Roseanne Barr.
After her debut stand-up album Cutting was released in April 2011, and received positive feedback from critics who already had her on their radar. Schumer’s next special, Mostly Sex Stuff (2012) lived up to its name and won her positive feedback and a little more notoriety. That same year, she began developing a comedy sketch show for Comedy Central, Inside Amy Schumer, which premiered in April 2013. When the third season premiered this year, a fourth was ordered the same day. In other words, Comedy Central doesn’t want her to fly the coop just yet. And who can blame them?
In 2015 alone, she has hosted the MTV Movie Awards, wrote and starred in a major studio release, and won Emmys for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series and Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics (along with five other nominations). She was named one of Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People,” won a Peabody Award, and signed a multi-million dollar memoir deal with Simon & Schuster.
Amy is well on her way to being a comedic icon, if she’s not there already. It’s fair to say she’s dominated the smaller world of comedy (which is a feat in and of itself), so it’s only logical that she’s beginning her transition to film.
Schumer wrote and starred in the 2015 summer film Trainwreck, which starred SNL alum Bill Hader, and was directed by Judd Apatow – arguably the biggest comedic producer around (Pineapple Express, Anchorman). Since then, she’s announced that she and Hollywood’s darling, Jennifer Lawrence, are writing an original comedic film about two sisters, who would be played by the two powerhouses. The internet was buzzing when it saw the pair were hanging out, so when this news broke, everyone lost their minds.
So, why is she so popular? What makes people flock to women like Amy Schumer and Jennifer Lawrence? I think I have an idea.
In an industry (and a world, unfortunately) that has a different set of rules for women, women like Amy Schumer go out of their way to break those rules. She says what she wants and she does what she wants, all with no apologies, which is the whole point, isn’t it? Women shouldn’t have to apologize for making the same jokes men make, or for talking about things people tend to shy away from. I mean, have you seen the Emmy-nominated sketch, “Last F**ckable Day”? It’s hilarious and rips to pieces Hollywood’s horrifying beauty standards with a little help from Hollywood heavyweights like Emmy, SAG and Golden Globe winners Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tina Fey, and Patricia Arquette, who is also an Academy Award winner.
(Warning: NSFW)
Amy Schumer is the reason we, the people tired of double standards and inequalities, are still shouting “Yaaasss, Queen. Yaaass!” And, it’s because of this, her star light will continue to get brighter and brighter until she either implodes or retires. Either way, it’ll be on her terms.
Watch Amy Schumer: Live at The Apollo at 10pm ET Saturday on HBO or anytime after On Demand.