Amy Schumer should only appear in movies she writes for herself. Her 2015 film debut "Trainwreck" was smart, insightful and hilarious and she wrote every word of it.
"Snatched" with Goldie Hawn was ok at best and 2018's I FEEL PRETTY is kind of a mess.
You can't blame Schumer. She gives it 100% as Renee Bennett, a NYC single woman struggling with her self image and her life choices.
When a fall during a cycling class gives her a head injury, she wakes up seeing herself as stunning. Loaded with confidence, every mirror is her friend.
Renee takes charge of her life, goes for the receptionist job at the uber stylish Lily, run by Avery LeClaire. Avery is played by Michelle Williams (The Greatest Showman, All the Money in the World) in a hilarious, go for broke performance that steals the movie.
Schumer's Renee looks exactly the same on the outside but is the most confident woman on the planet, taking control of her career and her life but predictably alienating her closest friends, who suddenly aren't cool enough for her.
Tom Hopper (Game of Thrones) is Avery's brother, battling for control of the company and Renee's attention.
Rory Scovel is very good as Ethan, an every-man wowed by Renee's sheer force of personality.
But about the time they meet and begin to fall in love, the film begins making some odd choices, shoving Renee (and Schumer) into scenes that feel contradictory to the message and her character.
Renee jumps on stage to participate bikini contest. Really? In a film about female empowerment?
Schumer treats her old friends like dirt and basically becomes the type of person she always hated, leaving the story-line jumping through hoops to maneuver Renee back into a likable character.
If nothing else, it's great to see Lauren Hutton on film again as Avery's mom, she's terrific, as is Adrian Martinez (Focus) as Renee's basement dwelling co-worker before her transformation.
Schumer is a terrific physical comedian and she's grown a lot as an actress, but she is stranded in a second half that flounders badly before (kind of) regaining its footing in a final act that you could call predictable or trite depending on your mood.
Both are accurate.
There are plenty of laughs, MOST of them generated by Williams in a great performance. There are some great dramatic moments, especially between Scovel & Schumer, but they're stranded in a story that seems to be conflicted between message and tone.
The movie spends half its time telling us fat jokes are wrong and the other half beating us over the head with them.
I can't imagine Schumer letting this character make these choices if she had written it.
I FEEL PRETTY gets lost in some pretty ugly mixed messaging and gets a C-.
Comments