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Sen. Schumer makes a cameo in some of the publicity material for "Trainwreck." (Screenshot)
Sen. Schumer makes a cameo in some of the publicity material for "Trainwreck." (Screenshot)

This could be a first for Washington: When someone refers to “Schumer,” it may now require clarification. The senator or the comedian?  

With the Friday opening of the Amy Schumer comedy “Trainwreck,” the aspiring Senate Democratic leader, Sen. Charles E. Schumer, might find himself eclipsed by his cousin, who stars, wrote and produced the Judd Apatow flick. Why? Well, to start with, it’s hilarious. The movie, that is. The story of a hard-partying journalist (somewhat of a redundancy, yes) who falls for a nice-guy sports doctor played by Bill Hader is a raunchy romp that follows well in the footsteps of other New York comedies of manners, substance abuse and sex such as “Manhattan,” “When Harry Met Sally” and “Sex and the City.”  

Although Sen. Schumer has long held king of the Hill status in the nation’s capital, Amy Schumer’s pop-culture credentials have been rising for years, starting with her stand-up, moving on to her Comedy Central show “Inside Amy Schumer” and cresting, at least so far, with “Trainwreck.”  

The two New Yorkers have hung out, most notably last year at Shakespeare in the Park . Alas, the senator was not at the July 13 screening of “Trainwreck” at the Motion Picture Association of America’s I Street headquarters. But quite a few scribes and capital power brokers were in attendance at the packed confines of the MPAA’s cozy screening room, and judging from the crowd-feel, most everyone was amused.  

According to a follow-up thank-you note from the studio, the audience laughed 53 times — a count that echoes the score-keeping for applause and ovations at the State of the Union. The movie, which critics are lauding, also features by far the best use of Marv Albert outside of a Knicks game. (You’ll have to see for yourself.) LeBron James shows off his acting chops, so does John Cena.  

Maybe the senator can make it into her next movie.  

This being Washington, the thank-you note also made sure to feature a head-shot of the senator (“U.S. Senator Charles Schumer is Amy Schumer’s Cousin”) and other facts and figures for the wonks among us: 35 percent of Comcast and NBCUniversal employees are women, the U.S. film industry supports 1.9 million jobs, there were 3,700 local hires for the 140-day location shoot in New York City.  

Oh, and screening guests ate 65 boxes of popcorn.

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