Article written by Dylan Bell.
So recently I watched I Feel Pretty a romantic comedy starring Amy Schumer and I have thoughts.
The first thing I’d like to say is this film is good, but not for the reasons you may think. Although it is advertised as a romcom it is almost hilariously unfunny. That is not to say there are no funny moments but you are unlikely to find yourself laughing, at best you’ll be like me and have a mild chuckle. In saying that there are some funny moments, some from Amy Schumer’s character Renee, however the funniest aspects of this film come from the stellar supporting cast, especially Michelle Williams in a delightfully funny role which doesn’t over stay its welcome, and Renee’s friends who have some of the best jokes in the film.
Now you may be wondering if this is advertised as a romcom but the comedy is not that great, what could possibly be good about it? Well the romance for starters. This is one of the few movies I’ve seen that portrays a romance as legitimately real and natural, both actors have a good chemistry and their banter is one of the best parts of the film. It is one of the few romcoms I’ve seen that I’ve actually enjoyed the romance portion of the film.
A question you may be wondering is does the romance really make this movie good? Well partly, the romance makes this is an entertaining movie, along with the small comedic side characters, but what makes this a good movie? Simply put, its message. This is a film about having self-confidence, without spoiling too much the basic plot is the main character Renee has a severe lack of self-esteem, a problem many can relate to, and wishes she was pretty and after an accident in the gym in which she hits her head she suddenly sees herself as the beautiful woman she always wanted to be. Of course she hasn’t changed in the slightest physically, but her self-confidence soars and thanks to that she begins to achieve many of her dreams.
This movie portrays a lack of self-esteem in a realistic way. Yes, it’s dramatized for the film but only slightly and apart from a small speech she gives at the beginning of the film it’s very well shown. Another aspect done well in this film is showing two characters who are very attractive and beautiful, having self-esteem issues which, although, seems unfathomable is very true to reality.
Now this movie does have draw backs, for starters it is horrifically cliché and the ending speech of the film I predicted almost verbatim within the first fifteen minutes of the film, as well some fairly bad pacing issues particularly in the middle of the film. And once again it is for the most part very unfunny, all legitimate critiques which I cannot deny.
One critique I have seen online is people comparing this movie to Shallow Hal a 2001 film staring Jack Black. This comparison is not unwarranted but also not fair in my opinion, although both films have similar messages they are completely different to who they are targeting. Shallow Hal targets men primarily and tells them to not judge a woman based on her looks. Whereas I Feel Pretty targets women telling them to believe in themselves and saying that they are all pretty. Once again, the comparison is there but saying this film stole from Shallow Hal shows a severe lack of understanding about both of these films.
After all these things I’ve said to you, you might be wondering why I believe this is a good film. Well the fact is the message is good and relatable. I have seen many critics say this movie is terrible and that it body shames, I couldn’t disagree more, Amy Schumer is by no means a large woman but she isn’t thin either and she revels in it. She owns every curve she has and I believe that is commendable and wonderful for a film to portray and I believe this makes the faults this movie has easier to forgive.
I am well known to my friends and family to be a bit of a movie snob, I wouldn’t say it’s rare I find a movie I like, that’s completely not true, it just means I see faults in movies that many do not. It is rare however for me to find to a film that has very obvious flaws and yet I would still classify as good and recommend. All movies have flaws, but if a movie has a message that speaks to you on a deeply personal level, those flaws suddenly start to matter less.
I recommend this movie not because it is has a spectacular story or world class acting, I don’t recommend this film because it’s ground breaking or unbelievably hilarious, none of those are true. I recommend this film because the message it has about believing in yourself and having the confidence to say ‘I love me and the way I look’ is a message that every single person needs to hear. Because you are pretty, you just need to believe it.
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