By Laura BennettTuesday 24 Apr 2018Hope AfternoonsMoviesReading Time: 2 minutes
For a feel-good film about leaving your body hang-ups at the door, Amy Schumer’s latest movie, ‘I Feel Pretty’ has taken a beating from critics, but the backlash completely misses the point.
Attempting to tackle issues of body confidence and insecurity, Schumer plays Renee Bennett, a single thirty-something New-Yorker who feels fated to a life of insignificance and unhappiness because she can’t get past how seemingly unattractive she is. On a quest to ‘right this wrong’, Renee signs up to a SoulCycle spin class where she sustains a head injury, and after waking from it with a newfound belief that she’s an absolute babe, she decides she can do anything she sets her mind to.
So far the film’s been met with a consistent amount of online vitriol, most pointedly suggesting Amy Schumer is ‘too pretty’ to depict an ‘overweight outsider’, as she has all the traits of conventional Western beauty. The reasons for the view are grounded in everything from anti-elitist sentiment, to filmmakers thinking it weakens the script because her character isn’t exaggerated enough.
Whatever the reasoning though, it points to a major social hypocrisy I’m surprised hasn’t been picked up on: we say body-image issues are widespread and deeply personal, but “No guys, there’s no way an average 30-yr old with belly flab and wobbly bits can’t have them.” Excuse me, but isn’t that the crux of the problem right there? Gorgeous, ‘normal’ girls are comparing their bodies to typical model types, and DO think there’s something ugly about the way they look. Amy Schumer is a perfect choice. She represents the core majority of size 14 women wishing they were a size 8 who’ll love to see this flick.
I’ll admit I Feel Pretty is a little tacky and repetitive (especially given Schumer’s reputation for being actively unfiltered when it comes to taboo topics and her body), but its message of beauty being about attitude and not dress size, is a good reminder that our value is intrinsic. No outfit, knockback, or otherwise is going to change the fact that you’re fearfully and wonderfully made.
I Feel Pretty is rated M and in cinemas now.