‘Pretty’ has pretty cool message
The truth is, I feel pretty confident and capable after seeing Amy Schumer’s new film, in spite of early criticism.
When The Ellen DeGeneres Show unveiled the trailer for I Feel Pretty (in theaters Friday) in February, I was excited. Then excitement turned to shock when backlash surged around the comedy’s premise: After hitting her head when she falls from a stationary bike at SoulCycle, Schumer’s timid Renee finally sees herself as beautiful. I interpreted this fall as a literal expression of Renee getting sense knocked into her, dissipating the cloud of insecurities that can keep women from seeing their true beauty. Others did not see it this way.
“As someone who looks considerably less attractive than @amyschumer in a bikini, has considerably less middle class privilege, & a chronic illness - what am I supposed to take from #Ifeelpretty - that I’m hideous to society and need brain damage before I can believe in myself ?” asked one Twitter user.
“did amy schumer really think a movie about a woman needing a blow to the head to feel confident in her body would uplift people????” another inquired.
I’d never want to discount anyone’s feelings, but I had hopes that the movie would inspire, as Schumer promised DeGeneres. “It’s a really funny and sweet movie that I think will make us all feel better,” she said at the time.
I think Schumer delivered. It’s a joy to watch Renee’s transformation unfold onscreen. With her newfound confidence, she swaps her isolated basement office for cosmetic company Lily LeClaire’s swanky Fifth Avenue digs. Formerly intimidated by online dating, she’s bold enough to give a new guy her number and ask him out. Watching her, I wondered how different my life could be if I asked for the things I wanted and didn’t count myself out for opportunities that I’ve deemed beyond my reach.
It’s a sentiment that aligns with co- writer/-director Abby Kohn’s vision for the movie.
“It’s about self-confidence and selflove being so much more important than what you look like,” Kohn told USA TODAY. “That’s really an empowering message for young women and all women.”
Schumer’s Renee “is every one of us,” she adds. “She’s smart and beautiful, has friends and a great life. ... The bump on the head frees her mentally to be able to have confidence in what she always was.”
I Feel Pretty also acknowledges, as in the real world, that insecurity doesn’t discriminate. Self-doubt relatably affects many of the characters, regardless of their outward appearance, which allowed me to feel less isolated.
Renee’s love interest Ethan (comedian Rory Scovel) hilariously tries to hide his body during a love scene by repeatedly flipping the light off. Michelle Williams’ Avery LeClaire, an executive at the cosmetics company, loathes her ridiculously high-pitched voice. Even Renee’s friend Mallory (model/actress Emily Ratajkowski), who Renee sees as her physical ideal, confesses to having low self-esteem. We all have something or maybe a slew of things that might make us feel bad about ourselves, and having that universal truth reinforced somehow lightens the burden.
Though Renee wants to be “undeniably pretty,” the film points out the problem of being image-obsessed. When Renee begins to place too much emphasis on looks, her friend Jane (Busy Philipps) tells her it’s sad if her greatest dream is to be beautiful.
The movie’s most inspiring moment comes in one of the final scenes. Renee — whose original insecurities about her body have returned after another blow to the head — has her own Wizard of Oz “you’ve always had the power” moment. She realizes she didn’t need to make a wish at a fountain or have a mind-altering fall in order to change her life: Getting a job she wants and meeting a quality man was always within her reach.
“I’m me, and I’m proud to be me,” she declares in a moment of true acceptance.
Leaving the theater, I felt hopeful that I could, like Renee, adjust my attitude and change my life — hopefully, without head injuries.