Amy Schumer looks to recapture some of her Trainwrecksuccess with I Feel Pretty, a movie that rom-com fans will likely enjoy.
Schumer plays Renee, a woman who is self-conscious about her weight and physical appearance. After an accident in her spin class, she hits her head and suddenly perceives herself as physically beautiful. This gives her newfound confidence and changes her outlook on the world. She even begins dating a mildly befuddled nice guy (Rory Scovel).
Written and directed by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein, I Feel Pretty’s biggest virtue is its overall warm-heartedness. The movie’s message about being confident and comfortable in your own skin is a good one. It also, refreshingly, refuses to turn supporting characters into easy villains. In a lesser movie, characters like Michelle Williams’ makeup industry scion would have been played as one-dimensional caricatures. But the film extends empathy even to its supporting characters.
Schumer and Scovel have good chemistry together. Perhaps the most important question that can be asked of any romantic comedy is this: are the leads likable and sympathetic? Here, the answer is yes.
The film is not without its flaws. Even though the 110-minute movie is shorter than a lot of bloated comedies these days, it still feels about 10 minutes too long. It lags when Schumer’s newfound confidence turns into narcissism and selfishness. There’s also a speech at the film’s climax that underlines the film’s message in a heavy-handed way.
I Feel Pretty may not break new ground in the rom-com genre, but it makes for an enjoyable matinee.
