Written and Directed by: Abby Kohn, Marc Silverstein
Cast: Amy Schumer, Michelle Williams, Emily Ratajkowski
The comedy I Feel Pretty seems to target a specific audience and based off some reactions I’ve seen, I think if the trailer doesn’t appeal to you, you might not want to see it.
The film stars Amy Schumer as Renee. Renee works for an “IT Girl” style makeup company called Lilly Le Claire. The catch is she works in a basement off site for the Technology Department. Renee is portrayed as the typical girl who has friends and a happy life but wants more. She wants what’s advertised as the conventional beauty and conventional success story.
After a montage of things going wrong for Renee opens the film, we see her watching a film which causes her to run out into the rain and wish to be beautiful. Followed by her throwing a coin into the fountain in front of her. The next morning she attends Soul Cycle and falls off her bike and hits her head. This results in Renee gaining an indescribable amount of confidence and going about her life as if she has a new body that no one can recognize as hers. To the bewilderment of her friends, and all those she interacts with, no one questions it. From there hilarity ensues, and I Feel Pretty is a good ride. I do however have a few problems with the film.
There are many side characters that seem to just disappear and reappear for the sake of a joke. For example, Emily Ratajkowski plays a girl named Mallory. Mallory is a modelesque, beautiful woman who only shows up in the plot to keep the audience informed that Renee isn’t as pretty as her. Both actresses do a great job, but it just gets annoying to constantly see the same setup each time an actor comes on screen. It came off as lazy writing.
The next issue was Renne’s friends. Aidy Bryant and Busy Phillips play Renee’s two best friends, but you wouldn’t know it. If you’ve seen the trailers, you’ve seen the extent of their roles. They almost fade into the background the whole film just simply because they are given nothing to do. Almost most of the cast is given nothing to do except react to the film’s comedic lines. This is both funny and lazy, because the runtime hits about 1hr and 40 minutes.
Aside from an underutilized cast and repeated joke setups, I Feel Pretty bested my expectations. Two actors who definitely did not fall into the background are Michelle Williams as Avery Le Claire and Rory Scovel as Ethan, Renee’s Love interest. Michelle Williams is excellent as the CEO of Lily Le Claire and any scene she’s in your eyes go straight to her, because her dialogue is so funny. It’s also fresh and witty banter that is a good juxtaposition to the lines Amy Schumer has.
Then there is Rory as Ethan. His character is great and almost meant to be the audience personified. He’s on this journey, but he knows and accepts this journey for all it is and all it will be. Another refreshing aspect is that all of the funny jokes are not in the trailer, and the plot is actually developed in an exciting way throughout the film.
Overall, I Feel Pretty is worth watching. Despite the lack of character development of its side plot characters, the main plot is worth sticking around to watch. If you enjoy the cringy, comedy moments from SNL and funny banter of stand up comedy, this movie is for you. I Feel Pretty is a new comedy with a message at the end that you’ll love.
