Movie Review: "I Feel Pretty" is a TEN!
Mirror, mirror on the wall who is the prettiest of them all?
In I FEEL PRETTY an ordinary woman who struggles with feelings of insecurity and inadequacy on a daily basis wakes from a fall believing she is suddenly the most beautiful and capable woman on the planet. With this newfound confidence she is empowered to live her life fearlessly and flawlessly, but what will happen when she realizes her appearance never changed?
When Renee Bennett (Amy Schumer, Trainwreck) looks in the mirror, she sees a woman who is not good enough and ho feels invisible with a steady job, decent apartment and loyal friends.
However, she has always dreamed of more. She wants to be pretty — the kind of pretty that is undeniable, all the perks that go with it. One rainy night, inspired after watching the movie "Big," she heads to a local park, tosses a coin in a fountain, and begs the universe to grant her the wish to be beautiful.
The next day, disappointed that her wish did not come true, she goes to her spin class. The whole SoulCycle scene is already intimidating enough, but she puts on her game face, stares into the instructor's eyes and focuses — so hard that she flies off the handlebars, crashes to the floor, and smacks her head — not once, but twice — before going unconscious. As she wakes, woozy, bloodied and minus a significant clump of hair, she gets the shock of a lifetime when she looks in the mirror. Her wish has come true. For the first time, she can say, "I FEEL PRETTY," and mean it.
Unbeknownst to Renee, her outward appearance has not changed a bit. To her best friends Vivian (Aidy Bryant, Saturday Night Live) and Jane (Busy Philipps, Vice Principals). Renee looks the same. However, as good friends do, they played along with it because "new" Renee's confidence and charisma were through the roof. So that is a good thing. Thanks to her newfound confidence, she puts herself out there and meets a great guy (Rory Scovel, The House), aces a job interview, and even enters a bikini contest without an ounce of fear or insecurity.
After six years in a dingy basement office, Renee joins the glamorous people at cosmetic giant Lily LeClair's Fifth Avenue headquarters. The elite beauty company is about to launch a line for everyday women. For CEO Avery LeClair (four-time Oscar nominee Michelle Williams, Manchester By the Sea) and her grandmother, company founder Lily (Lauren Hutton, American Gigolo), Renee provides the perspective they need to make their new line appealing to the commonplace shopper. Renee finds her ideas in demand for the first time, Avery's playboy brother Grant (Tom Hooper, Game of Thrones) also finds himself intrigued by Renee's confidence of self and eagerly tries to get to know her better.
Feeling pretty is as impressive as Renee imagined, but with some unexpected realizations. For example, Avery, despite her perfect life, has real confidence issues. Mallory (Emily Ratajkowski, Gone Girl), the flawless model in Renee's SoulCycle class, does not have all the answers either and is capable of being as heartbroken as someone who looks like Renee. Even Renee, propelled by her newfound confidence, runs into complications that cannot be fixed by appearance alone. However, her extraordinary "transformation" leads Renee, and those around her, to fully realize that how you feel about yourself genuinely epitomizes your potential as a person for achieving your dreams and for happiness.
The message in I FEEL PRETTY was everything and more. Women continuously deal with body-shaming and perceptions that people consider "true beauty." It is important to let women and young girls know that they are beautiful how they are. Being outwardly "pretty" in the eyes of others does not bring real happiness. Feeling pretty from the depth of your soul and loving you for you is what attracts people. Even the "prettiest" people feel self-doubt. Being "beautiful" does not bring joy. Loving yourself, as yourself is what pure happiness is.
The idea of the film being comedic while addressing such an important subject of self-worth was pure genius. It made a serious and touchy topic not feel as heavy with Amy's touch of comedic relief made the character Renee so relatable, and every girl will fall in love with her character.
This movie teaches us that we must not allow other's perspectives of what is considered "pretty" to dim who we are. We are all beautiful. We must live our best lives and not allow a little doubting voice to change your behavior of feeling less than great. Be fearless. Be bold. Be witty. Be you. We at THAheadline give I FEEL PRETTY a score of 10 out of 10.
I FEEL PRETTY is a must see for all, young and old and is in theaters everywhere April 20.
IFeelPretty.Movie