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I like Amy Schumer … to a point. I’ve enjoyed her Comedy Central series Inside Amy Schumer, and I really enjoyed Trainwreck. But by the time she got to Snatched, it seemed she was stuck in the rut of playing the same basic character, a horny, sloppy drunk who resorted to using an annoying baby voice when she was trying to avoid being chastised for her behavior. And then she kind of disappeared for a while until previews for her new movie I Feel Pretty were released. And the internet did not take well them because the surface appearance made it seem that Schumer was playing a privileged white woman who was already pretty and not really overweight who could only find her beauty after being hit on the head. The whole effort seemed rather shallow and was met with much derision.
But … after watching the movie, now available on home video, perhaps that was the point of the trailer. I Feel Pretty casts Schumer as Renee Bennett, who runs the online division of a popular, high end makeup brand from a dingy basement office blocks away from HQ. Renee has that attractive ‘girl next door’ look, nothing offensive, nothing that should be regarded has hideous, but after paying a visit to the office to deliver some paperwork, Renee is regarded — by the impossibly thin and heavily made up women working there — as a monster. Renee’s friends Jane (Busy Philipps) and Vivian (Aidy Bryant) try to tell her that there is absolutely nothing wrong with her, but her confidence is shaken because she has been made to feel she does not fit the norm.
Enrolling in a spin class, Renee has an accident when he bike seat collapses and she hits her head. Suddenly she sees herself as the ideal she has created in her mind while everyone sees the same Renee they’ve always seen. But the hit on the noggin has given Renee the confidence boost she needed to get out of that basement office, and her new attitude plus the knowledge of the product gets her a job as the receptionist for the company (a pay cut, but she now is the first face anyone sees walking into the office … which still surprises many people but her confidence is never shaken). With a new job and a new outlook on life, Renee even flirts with a guy at the dry cleaners, a pretty average guy at that. He’s a little taken aback by her confidence, but he’s intrigued as well. Long story short, Renee ascends within the company which wants to expand its makeup line to an affordable product sold at Target, but average customers believe the company is too elite. Renee has all the answers an impresses her boss (played by Michelle Williams with a baby doll voice) and company owner Lilly Leclair (Lauren Hutton). But another head injury brings Renee back to her old, less confident self and puts her in crisis mode with boyfriend Ethan, her friends and her job. Will she be able to once again find that inner beauty she’s always had and get back on track?
I Feel Pretty really isn’t the shallow comedy it appeared to be on the surface of the trailer. It’s a very pointed commentary on a society where if a woman isn’t a size zero or less, she’s overweight and undesirable. Renee hitting her head doesn’t do a thing to change her physical appearance, but it allows her to be less inhibited around those who only see her on the surface. She may see herself as an equal to those other women, but what really impresses them is her confidence. They don’t care anymore about her outer appearance, so what the movie is trying to impart is that women shouldn’t and don’t have to live up to some impossibly high, media-generated standard, they just need to be confident in who they are and not let others dictate how they feel about themselves.
Schumer does a very good job with both of her ‘personalities,’ never falling back onto any of her old schtick. It was a refreshing and honest performance, especially as the original Renee with her lack of makeup and whatever item of clothing she has to wear that isn’t dirty because she hasn’t had time to do the laundry. She also has two completely different demeanors, and while the new Renee is fun and confident, she does become a little overbearing with her friends who suddenly don’t fit the image that she now sees in herself, which they find problematic since nothing about her own appearance has actually changed except for a little more makeup and clean clothes. (And she doesn’t go out on a shopping spree either, she just wears what she has with all the confidence in the world.) Schumer gives a wonderful performance all around.
Philipps, Bryant and Rory Scovel (Ethan) also give Schumer great support, even when new Renee alients her friends and the return to the old Renee pushes Ethan away. They really bring these characters to life, making them feel like people you’d want to hang out with yourself. Michelle Williams is also a delight as Avery Leclair. She might come off as a tad self-centered, but despite her outward appearance, she has her own confidence issues — especially when it comes to her overbearing brother — and becomes quite taken with Renee’s own confidence, even putting her in charge of the new affordable line of cosmetics. It’s a great cast overall. The writing and direction is sharp, making I Feel Pretty as kind of the female empowerment version of Big.
With I Feel Pretty now available on home video, you can judge for yourself. The Blu-ray edition looks and sounds terrific, but sadly has too few bonus features. A commentary track would have been most welcome but all that’s included are a pretty funny Gag Reel with a lot of ad-libbing that cracks everyone up, some Deleted Scenes (which you should view before the Gag Reel since some outtakes are included in both), and a mini-trailer that runs less than a minute. That’s it. It’s not the most extras-laden Blu-ray out there.
Despite the paltry bonus material, the movie itself is the selling point and it really exceeded any expectations I had by judging it just on its surface appearance. The movie is funny and charming, and Schumer and company give terrific performances, so I would put this in the ‘must see’ category of home video releases.
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment generously provided Hotchka with a Blu-ray version of the film for reviewing purposes.
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