I Feel Pretty Review
PG-13: For sexual content, some partial nudity, and language
STX Films, Voltage Pictures, Wonderland Sound and Vision
Writers and Directors: Abby Kohn & Marc Silverstein
1 Hr and 48 Minutes
Cast: Amy Schumer, Michelle Williams, Emily Ratajkowski, Rory Scovel, Aidy Bryant, Busy Philipps, Tom Hopper, Lauren Hutton, Adrian Martinez, Sasheer Zamata
For years I’ve been hella defensive over Amy Schumer. Nearly everyone I meet just doesn’t like her and I don’t even know why? Her standup may not be funny. Sometimes her jokes are offensive. And her last film, “Snatched” was middle of the road. But I do love “Inside Amy Schumer” and “Trainwreck”. Yet, all of my friends just hate her. For nearly three years I’ve been defensive -- until now. After seeing “I Feel Pretty,” I’ve given up. You guys can have at her. I don’t care anymore.
Renee Bennett (Schumer) knows what it's like to be average in a world of the genetically blessed. After falling off an exercise bike and banging her head, she believes a spell has suddenly made her gorgeous. Except to everyone else, she looks exactly the same. Renee's new confidence suddenly sees her climbing the ranks at the cosmetics company she works for, getting the respect of her idol and boss, Avery LeClaire (Williams). Ultimately Renee realizes 'the spell' has lifted, but through the process learns true beauty is not skin deep.
THE GOOD
I appreciated the hell out of the first fifteen minutes of the movie. In the film’s introduction, you sympathize with Renee while the universe gives her nothing but garbage. Her life is unfulfilling and she has a streak of terrible things that happen to her. The first act starts out like a “Diary of a Wimpy Middle-Aged Woman.” Renee can’t shop at certain stores ‘cause they don’t sell her size; then everyone she sees is prettier than her, and she can’t catch a date to save her life. All of that affects her self-confidence and how she treats herself. You attach yourself to Schumer’s character, but then the film gets ugly when Rennee becomes 'beautiful'.
THE BAD
Have you ever seen one of those comedies that sounds funny as a SNL sketch but not as a full-length feature film? Well, “I Feel Pretty” is one of those movies where all of the humor is reliant on one joke from beginning to end. My main problem with “I Feel Pretty” isn’t either the cast or the performances but, in fact, the writing. A lot of the jokes come from Renee misinterpreting everyone’s perception of her because she’s overly ecstatic about how she looks. Sometimes people look at her in disgust because of the weird or obnoxious shit that comes out her mouth, which is understandable. But, sometimes people give her a strange look for no reason. There is a point where Renee takes a receptionist job at a fashion company and then when people see her they give her a look of disgust. Shit like that is just mean spirited and, even if it's for a joke, it’s rather cruel.
Everyone has been comparing this to the 2001 Farrelly Brothers’ film “Shallow Hal” where, after a shallow man is cursed, he falls in love with a 300-pound woman because of her "inner beauty". In ways, this movie resembles bits and pieces of that premise, but it comes nowhere close to being either as charming or creative as “Shallow Hal”. The main gag that kept us through “Shallow Hal” was Hal’s perception of Rosemary, who is the skinny Gwyneth Paltrow, but to everyone else she’s 300 pounds. The Farrelly Brothers knew how to play that premise up for laughs. Abby Kohn & Marc Silverstein, on the other hand, don’t do that at all for they rely on one joke to carry “I Feel Pretty” for an hour and 47 minutes.
When Renee looks in the mirror, all she sees is Renee and it doesn’t give the audience an impression of Renee seeing someone else that she loves which unleashes her ego. We never go inside Renee’s perception of what SHE sees in the mirror that gives an explanation as to why she’s so self-absorbed. If there was a visual gag or something where when Renee looks in the mirror and sees someone like Jennifer Lawrence (which would’ve been a hilarious in-joke due to her real life friendship with Schumer) then it would make sense as to why Renee is acting so shallow.
At first, I thought a lot of the jokes were funnier than Schumer’s previous film, “Snatched”. The movie is PG-13 so there aren’t constant jokes referencing Schumer’s vagina. But, as this film progressed, I started appreciating “Snatched” more because there were at least side characters that either stole the show or knocked Schumer’s character down a notch. The side characters here aren’t likable at all. They’re all either over-the-top cartoons or creepy as hell. The only people who actually felt like real people were Busy Phillips and Aidy Bryant as Renee’s best friends, because they’re the only two people who eventually call her out on her bullshit. Other than that, there’s absolutely no one.
The love interest, played by Rory Scovel, is onenote and barely has a personality other than being the straight man who is intimidated by Renee’s bluntness. He’s decent at first, but the more that’s revealed about him, the more you realize how creepy he is. Yet, the film plays it up for laughs. And poor Academy Award-nominated actress Michelle Williams is in this as a fashion cosmetics mogul who starts rewarding Renee for being herself. But then the entire time, Williams puts on an over-the-top high-pitched voice that is as grating as Schumer’s character. They are self-aware about it, for the voice is the butt of some jokes, but at the same time you question why they’re having Williams put it on when all they’re doing with it is making fun of her for it.
THE RENDY
Let it be known that Schumer has no involvement in the writing or the direction of this movie, so I can’t criticize her on those accounts. As a matter of fact, Schumer does give a decent performance, but it’s a shame her character is written so poorly that it kind of reflects Schumer’s personality as well. But, she very much indeed produced this, so a lot of the blame for my anger can be directed towards her as well.
To be blunt. I hate this movie. I really do. The biggest criminal sin that “I Feel Pretty” commits is it obnoxiously confuses egotism with self-confidence. I’ve never sympathized with a character, then ultimately despise them so fast. As soon as Renee becomes beautiful, you see her true colors where she talks about herself too much, tries to flaunt herself everywhere she can, and tries to become the center of attention any moment she can; she’s just so detestable. I’m not joking, this is a disgusting character that you never particularly root for because of their shallowness that the film just rewards and claims as confidence. The entire film is a mockery of insecurity and by the end of it, you just feel offended.
Honestly, if you’re going to show all the ugliness with these characters and this dumbass plot, but forcibly end your movie with a speech about female empowerment like it was going to make a statement about that in the first place, then
If you wanted a brilliant comedy about female empowerment, then go watch “Girls Trip” which delivered its message really well. If you want to watch a movie about a person trying to find self-love and inclusion, then go watch “Love, Simon” which is an outstanding comedy as well. There are so many other diversions to watch than this piece of garbage that doesn’t get the definition of what feeling pretty really means.
LAST STATEMENT
Mean spirited and very distinctly inept to the definition of self-love, “I Feel Pretty” is an unfunny comedy that desperately tries to get by with its onenote premise and Schumer’s performance.
Rating: 0.5/5 | 17%
