In Amy Schumer’s new hit movie, “Trainwreck,” comedian and actor Mike Birbiglia (“Sleepwalk with Me”) plays an entertainingly plain-vanilla husband and father. Birbiglia and Schumer have been performing at the same New York clubs for more than a decade, and they, along with other cast members and producers, like Colin Quinn and Judd Apatow, are promoting the movie with a comedy tour. Birbiglia recently sat down with WGBH Art Editor Jared Bowen to talk about why Schumer’s style is working and why “Trainwreck” is the rom-com of today.

JARED BOWEN: How do you characterize what she’s doing for comedy right now—the fact that she’s resonating in a very particular way?

MIKE BIRBIGLIA: It’s funny, I think so much of that stuff—sort of what explodes in maybe at given moment—has to do with so many cultural factors. And so the fact that her comedy is hitting this wide-reaching moment, combined with a big discussion of comedy in culture and a big discussion of feminism in culture, I definitely feel like it’s a moment in time; but in some ways, it won’t affect her career in the sense that I feel like she’s gonna have a career that spans 20, 30, 40 years.

JB: Where do you come down on this whole issue of women in comedy? A  lot of people are frankly offended by this notion that we’re in 2015 talking about what women can say.

MB: It’s a weird thing because I’ve never—some people, as a jumping off point, people say, "Jerry Lewis said women aren’t funny," or whatever. And I’m just like, "Who would think that?" I have always felt like women in my life are funny. I’ve always felt like my mom is the funniest person I know, my sisters are the funniest people I know, and so I just don’t identify with that. My special "My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend" was included in a list the other day that came out which is, comedy specials that prove that men can be funny, too. 

JB: In what way do you think “Trainwreck” is a part of our time, our romantic comedy?

MB: It’s the first movie I’ve seen that reverses the paradigm of the guy who won’t settle down, and it’s a woman who won’t settle down. And it flips that on its head in this way that I think is really funny, and it’s got tons of laughs. And then, you know, like all of my favorite movies, the emotionality of it kind of sneaks up on you, and you realize you’re watching real people, real characters who have a deep inner life. 

Watch Jared’s interview with “Trainwreck” star Amy Schumer on  Open Studio.