I Feel Pretty stars Amy Schumer in a role that mostly obscures her talent with material that is ultimately too bland and an overall premise doesn’t allow her to be footloose and fancy free.
Schumer stars as Renee Bennett, a woman with some serious issues regarding her image and just wishes that everyone around her could see her as beautiful. The trick is that everyone does, but Renee is not buying it. After a freak accident in an exercise class, Renee stares into a mirror and sees not her actual self but rather a thinner more attractive version of herself. From that point on, she becomes the embodiment of confidence.
Her new lease on life allows Renee to take chances that she normally wouldn’t. She begins to apply for a new receptionist job at a cosmetic company and even finds time to land herself a man (Rory Scovel). At first, her friends and new love don’t quite know what to make of it, but they begin to accept Renee as a new woman. This would be funnier if it allowed some real situations for Renee to be involved in that didn’t pertain to showing off her “new body” as in one scene where she enters a bikini contest and flaunts what she thinks she has. It’s not funny or even tantalizing; it’s just creepy and peculiar.
This movie wants to present a message to women about how they should love who they are by being themselves, but it’s presented in a way that feels forced and contrived with plot elements that don’t offer any charm or poignancy. The great thing about female-centric films such as Wonder Woman or Lady Bird is that we were introduced to a protagonist whom we fundamentally cared about and was fleshed out in a way that seemed genuine and authentic. This movie wastes that golden opportunity by dumbing down for audiences who won’t care by the end.
Women should be comfortable with who they are inside and out, but there are plenty of other movies where the story doesn’t feel as derivative or uninviting as this one.
Grade: C
(Rated PG-13 for sexual content, some partial nudity, and language.)
