Amy Schumer has found a nice little niche for herself as female comedic lead with an edgy side. Much in the way that Melissa McCarthy has done in recent years, Schumer has given herself a leg up with R-rated humor that tickles fans in the right way. She’s now taming things down a bit with a less racy roll in the PG-13 rated new comedy, I Feel Pretty. Keep reading to see why this might be one of her better performances so far.
Renee (Amy Schumer) hangs out with her two best friends, Vivian (Aidy Bryant) and Jane (Busy Philipps), enjoying the simple things in life, each other. Renee is self-conscious about her appearance but she is about to get a magical new makeover. Well not really magical, nor is it a makeover. She makes a wish to become more attractive and she also decides to get physical by going to a workout class. Her life is almost instantly transformed…by an exercise mishap leading to a closed-head injury. Renee awakens thinking that she has gone from ‘not’ to ‘hot’ and wastes no time strutting her stuff with her newfound confidence. She puts herself out there for the world to take notice and she begins to thrive instantly. A new job, a new man and new friends have Renee feeling like an entirely new person. And that’s when the real fun begins.
I Feel Pretty plays to Amy Schumer’s strong points. She’s allowed to be silly, making fun of herself in the process, and she also gets to show her vulnerable side. The great thing about Amy is that people seem to identify with her and it’s refreshing. Her performance is more enjoyable in this than it was in Snatched (2017) but nowhere near as enjoyable as Trainwreck (2015), which in a large part could be attributed to the supporting cast. None of the supporting actors really gave breakthrough performances. There were just there. Rory Scovel is probably the best of the bunch but no one really stood out. In terms of similarity, this sensationalism of superficialness closely resembles Shallow Hal (2001) but from a different perspective.
The message that writer/directors’ Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein put forth, is one that can be easily identified with by the masses. Beauty and confidence comes from within and you can do anything if you put your mind to it. Schumer puts this confident comical character front and center for all to see. Audiences will get the warm and fuzzies over some of what transpires will having some hearty laughs along the way. Amy’s humor will still wear on those that don’t like her but, just like Adam Sandler’s detractors, sometimes you can see past the annoyances to enjoy what’s being presented. I Feel Pretty is not a great movie but is entertaining for most of its almost two hour runtime. This is a comedy for both sexes but it fits perfectly for a girl’s night out kind of experience. You can catch it in theaters right now.
