The last of those is represented by a real brand – SoulCycle, which our protagonist attends several times over the course of the movie. The Amy Schumer comedy “I Feel Pretty” has generated a bit of backlash before it’s even come out, with many folks concerned that it’s relying on body shaming to generate cheap laughs. And a lot of that has to do with Schumer’s interactions with the inspired supporting cast. GOP Senator Says She’s ‘Not Familiar’ With Trump’s Infamous 'Access Hollywood' Tape, Eddie Van Halen: The Joy and Pain of Rock’s Last Guitar Superhero, Jimmy Page on His Vision for Led Zeppelin, Watch Dave Grohl Fight Coffee Addiction in Freshpotix Parody Ad, Billy Joe Shaver, Seminal Outlaw-Country Songwriter, Dead at 81, Neil Young’s Older Brother Bob Young Releases First Song at Age 78, ‘Tenet’ Review: Christopher Nolan’s Knockout Arrives Right on Time, ‘Bill & Ted Face the Music’ Review: Third Time’s a Most Excellent Charm, ‘Personal History of David Copperfield’ Review: Dickens, Served with a Side of Absurdity. If there's any reason at all to watch I Feel Pretty, it's for Williams, who's good enough to make me wish she'd ditch the prestige dramas for a bit and try out some more loosey-goosey comedies. Ethan (Rory Scovel), Renee's boyfriend, gets subjected to jabs about his "femininity" (he does Zumba), but his insecurities aren't resolved like hers are. Schumer's Renee attends a SoulCycle class, where she hits her head and wakes up believing she's turned into a much prettier woman. But that’s actually not even the movie’s biggest problem. 29 Oct. 2020. From her studied, hesitant delivery to the hilariously awkward way she carries herself, it’s clear she’s having a blast with this wonderfully weird performance. © Copyright 2020 Rolling Stone, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media, LLC. It’s an unbridled display of enthusiasm. She describes her new self as "a Kardashian – one of the Jenner ones!" When she regains consciousness, she believes she’s been magically transformed into the gorgeous bombshell she’s always dreamed of becoming. In the bridal shop where she works, Maria sings about being happy and feeling beautiful because she is "loved by a pretty wonderful boy", while her coworkers tease her about her silly behavior. What that new body looks like, the movie never really explains. This isn't always a bad thing. It's Renee who gets to explain to her bosses and the world at large that makeup should be for everyone. When she first comes to in the SoulCycle locker room, she marvels that her abs now feel "like rocks." for sexual content, some partial nudity, and language. Mason (Adrian Martinez), Renee's coworker, gets treated like dirt, but still drops everything to help her for no reason at all. Still, the context makes it hard to imagine Renee's idealized body any other way. And fellow comedian Dave Attell is his delightfully twisted self as the MC at a Coney Island bikini contest where Renee puts on a wild spectacle compared to the typical skinny girls who populate such events. Or acceptable? But the clever central conceit in the script from Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein—a longtime writing team (“Never Been Kissed,” “He’s Just Not That Into You,” “How to Be Single”) also making their directorial debut—is that Renee’s outward appearance never changes. And when you inevitably hurt yourself, because apparently that's a thing that happens all the time here, do the attendants really prioritize making sure you won't sue over making sure you're okay? The Amy Schumer comedy “I Feel Pretty” has generated a bit of backlash before it’s even come out, with many folks concerned that it’s relying on body shaming to generate cheap laughs. But I Feel Pretty fumbles its message so badly that the end result is less inspiring than just plain baffling. Again, this isn’t a moment of body shaming. She's also on Twitter @christylemire and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/christy.lemire2. Next time, she falls off again and cracks her head. And the filmmakers pull every sentimental trick in the book to show their heart is in the right place; the last section of the movie is a tearjerking slog. There are women of color in I Feel Pretty, but because they're skinnier than she is, the film is blind to any of the prejudices and injustices that they might be facing. She's got a shrewd grandmother, Lily, played by Lauren Hutton, and a roguish brother, Grant, played by Tom Hopper (a.k.a. But Williams is very, very funny in it. …Bernstein's instrumentation colors the music with a Latin character…and so does the girls' chorus that enters midway through. Kohn and Silverstein play with music and camera angles to contrast how Renee newly sees herself in the world—strutting through a crowd with the perfect song punctuating every step—and the uneventful reality. Somehow, instead of insisting she seek medical help right away, everyone around Renee – the SoulCycle attendant, her friends, and, later, her coworker, after she incurs a second head injury that leaves blood streaming from her forehead – just lets her carry on. In the musical, Maria is not yet aware that her love, Tony, has just killed her brother Bernardo, while in the film version, the song occurs before Bernardo's death. We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly. And watching her inspired delivery and unabashed physicality is one of the film’s great joys. I Feel Pretty use the same technique to hawk tickets: See this movie and you’ll feel better about yourself. is a global, multi-platform media and entertainment company. The plot involves an insecure woman who, after suffering a head injury, gains extreme self-confidence in her appearance. Little Richard covered the song as part of the 1996 RCA Victor tribute album The Songs of West Side Story. A woman struggling with insecurity wakes from a fall believing she is the most beautiful and capable woman on the planet. But still: Is it really OK to get off making plus-size jokes just because you tack on a moralizing ending that teaches a lesson about body positivity? Abby Kohn is a writer and producer, known for How to Be Single (2016), The Vow (2012) and He's Just Not That Into You (2009).