Released on April 20, “I Feel Pretty” was one of the most exciting upcoming movies of the year because it was produced by and starred A-List comedian, Amy Schumer.
Best known for her recent role in the 2015 film “Trainwreck” and her long history of work as a popular stand-up comedian, Schumer’s casting provided this film with a lot of potential.
With a plot centered around self-confidence and the intention to promote body love, the film was about a woman, Renee, who one day wakes up feeling gorgeous after a long battle struggling with body positivity. Her body had not changed at all but her mindset, attitude, and the way she lived her life became completely different.
Written and directed by Marc Silverstein and Abby Kohn, Amy Schumer plays a character whose large conflict comes from feeling amazing and beautiful while everyone around her sees absolutely no change.
The film was trying to make a good point; that beauty comes from believing you are beautiful, not from societal standards and labels. However, the movie didn’t quite hit that mark for me.
Instead, the outcome of the movie was somewhat hurtful, which I don’t believe was its intention. Sitting in the theater eating my popcorn and drinking my coke icee, the film made me feel uncomfortable with my own body rather than making me feel good about it.
Where it was supposed to cause self-love, the casting of skinny, seemingly beautiful actresses and the constant body comparisons made me start to feel bad about my own body.
Today, the media is covered with photoshopped images of models and celebrities and self-comparison is readily available through the easy access and growing popularity of social media platforms.
This movie really highlights how easy it is for someone to compare their body to others, and how easy it is to feel bad about your own body.
The main character, Renee, attempts to change her body by attending spin classes at the gym, reshaping her body with Spanx, and altering her appearance by spending a good amount of time putting on her makeup in the morning.
If anything, the movie was more of an attempt at just being funny than it was an attempt at promoting body positivity. It did a pretty bad job at this if you ask me.
That being said, people who struggle with self-love and body-positivity should definitely skip seeing this film. It isn’t worth the money and it’s only frustrating.
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For people just looking to see a comedy in theaters, “I Feel Pretty” was funny, but it wasn’t that funny. It might be one of the best comedies out now, but it sure isn't one worth seeing twice. In fact, it might be better just left renting and seeing at home.
Timber Mabes is a culture reporter with the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @timbermabes.
