Directed by: Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein
Starring: Amy Schumer, Michelle Williams, Lauren Hutton, Busy Phillips, Aidy Bryant, Tom Hopper, Adrian Martinez, Rory Scovel
I Feel Pretty falters in the third act. Until that point, it was a charming comedy with something to say about self-esteem and how we allow others to shape it. Then, it stumbles and crawls across the finish line. What a pity. This is Schumer's best starring performance by far, and she's assisted by some pretty terrific supporting work, especially by Michelle Williams.
Schumer stars as Renee Bennett, whose lack of confidence and self-esteem is painfully obvious in how she talks, walks, and interacts with others. She is clearly ashamed to be in her own skin. She is not a supermodel, but she is not unattractive either. But, she continuously compares herself to other women and feels even more inadequate. Such negative thinking allows her to be stuck working in a basement for the IT department of a glamorous fashion magazine run by Avery LeClaire (Williams) when she really wants to be a receptionist in the magazine's lobby. Renee figures she won't apply because they wouldn't hire someone who looks like...her.
One day at a spin class, Renee slips off the exercise bike and suffers a concussion. Renee awakes from the fall to find she is GORGEOUS. Nothing has changed about her personal appearance, mind you, but Renee just looks in the mirror and sees awesomeness. She now possesses the confidence she lacked before, which turns out to be a help for her in her career and dating life, while also causing alienation from her longtime friends who are turned off by her borderline arrogance. Renee meets a nice guy named Ethan (Scovel), who thinks Renee is perfect the way she is and is kind of, sort of ashamed to admit he takes Zumba classes.
So far, so good. I Feel Pretty hadn't gone for cheap laughs or slapstick. We were fully engaged by Schumer and what was happening to her. Then, we start to see the plot mechanics turn and not for the better. It would have been more daring to have Renee learn to deal with the ups and downs of her newfound high self-esteem, but instead the movie takes what it thinks is the easy way out by having Renee bump her head again and wake up with the lack of self-worth she felt before. This is where the movie loses its footing and its surety. The final thirty minutes feel disconnected from the rest of the movie, and maybe a few scenes which would explain Renee's job situation were edited out. I admit I was confused. Did she still work for Avery LeClaire or not?
It is difficult to review I Feel Pretty without addressing the controversy surrounding it, or at least some people's misunderstanding as to the movie's message. Renee isn't fat shamed or openly mocked. She is seen as ordinary and feels even less so. The bump on the head magically awakens her inner "I Am Woman" vibe, and the movie follows this idea with a certain logic, until it wimps out by trying to shove a happy ending down our throats. Still, I Feel Pretty gives us a more lovable Schumer who doesn't hide behind irony, but instead is allowed to be vulnerable, relatable, and touching. And Williams takes a role we think we have wired and then instills it with some surprises of its own. The movie follows suit, until it doesn't anymore.
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