Amy Schumer
There’s a lot of frank talk in “Amy Schumer Growing,” the 37-year-old actress’ comedy special on Netflix. But, in the hilariously subversive hourlong show, which premieres today, you won’t see Amy insulting the objects of her ire with no good reason.
If she comes across as obnoxious in her films and guesting gigs, the stand-up comedy platform provides not just an opportunity to see where her assertiveness is coming from, but also the clarificatory context fueling her curse-laced attacks and slap-in-the-face arguments.
For this particular show, however, Amy shines the spotlight on sex, marriage, pregnancy, personal growth and the joys of womanhood.
Of course, she knows whereof she speaks because, well, she was five months pregnant when she recorded the comedy special in front of an appreciative audience in Chicago.
Amy articulates her thoughts about issues that other people are either too polite or too shy to discuss openly—like men’s interest in porn, or concern for the well-being of an unborn child when women engage in sex during pregnancy (“Will it kill the baby?”), or what Meghan Markle and Queen Elizabeth II talk about when they hang out.
Or trying on a lingerie for the first time and realizing it isn’t for everybody (“My fishnets look like they’ve caught an actual fish”), or marrying late (she exchanged “I dos” with chef Chris Fischer last year, at age 36).
Amy considers herself a genius for her decision to marry a chef, “unless you don’t like food like I do,” she quips. “It’s like Snoop Dogg marrying weed.”
She says having a satisfying family life also has its downside: “Women have been lying how hard it is to be pregnant,” she says. “I have hyperemesis. I’ve been experiencing extreme nausea and vomiting almost every day for the past five months, so I’ve been throwing up an ‘exorcist’ amount [of puke]!”
The comedienne stars in “Amy Schumer Growing” —ELIZABETH SISSON/NETFLIX
Good thing she’s married to a great guy who, she says, has been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism. “It’s also the reason why I fell madly in love with Chris. He’s incapable of telling a lie. It’s his brutally frank nature that makes me feel beautiful, because he says whatever is on his mind.”
But Amy is really on top of her game when she delves into society’s double standards that women are forced to adhere to: “Mothers often make light of their 12-year-old daughters’ scary first period (menarche), while the worst thing boys go through at that age is unwanted erection.”
Boosting a woman’s confidence is another contentious matter, she says. “It’s tough to be confident when you’re female. You turn on the TV and [realize] you’re competing with these gorgeous women … like this so-called ‘mother of dragons’: Kris Jenner (laughs). The Kardashians are so confident they confuse me about my own confidence!”
The actress says she has ready advice for young women who receive unsolicited dick pics from lascivious or sexually predatory men: “Send back a dick pic. A dick pic deserves another.”
Amy turns serious when she talks about sexual discrimination and abuse. She says, “I don’t know if men are aware how scared women are about the fact that one in every three women will be assaulted in her lifetime. It’s even scarier when you’re a woman of color. And if you’re a trans woman, forget it.
“A study says that the No. 1 thing women are scared about is violence, whereas men’s No. 1 source of fear is … ridicule (laughs)!”
The comedienne explains why she feels it’s important to fight for one’s advocacies. “You might have heard that I got arrested in October [last year],” she recalls. “But I went to Washington, DC to get arrested … as a form of protest against the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Spoiler alert: It didn’t go our way.
“Truth is, I was obsessed with the fear of going hungry if I ended up getting arrested [because of my ‘delicate’ condition]. So, as the Capitol police were closing in on us protesters, I was ramming snacks down my mouth!
“People were telling me, ‘You should be more responsible … because you’re pregnant!’
“But that’s exactly why I went down there: I want to be able to tell this kid (she points to her tummy) that I did everything I could [to make his future a little better]!”