In today’s world, we idolize high gaps, jawlines, and skinny waists. Models set the standards so high, it is difficult for the normal everyday woman to truly feel beautiful. Amy Schumer’s new movie I Feel Pretty shakes this stereotype and uses humor and relatability to teach audience members what being pretty actually feels like.

I Feel Pretty follows main character Renee Bennett who struggles with low self esteem and body insecurities. She is the average woman trying to fit in with a world of Barbie dolls. One night while watching the famous movie Big, Renee finds herself wishing she had some form of magic to grant her wish. So, she goes to a fountain and wishes she was beautiful. The next day at a SoulCycle class, Renee falls and hits her head, waking up in a state of euphoria: seeing herself as beautiful. Renee sees a gorgeous supermodel in her own eyes, but to the outside world, she is still the same woman. This new version of herself grants Renee with a newfound confidence that strikes everyone she meets. She starts walking confidently, talking confidently, and enjoying her own confidence.

Plot: 5/5

The plot follows how Big allows the main character to go through a magical change all from a wish, but this movie shows the reality of it- nothing changed except for the way she perceived herself. The movie comparison was fantastic and especially helped if you have seen the movie Big. It’s the classic case of making a wish and having it come true, only to want to go back to your life in the end. The difference with this movie is that there’s a twist, and Renee sees that she can have both versions of herself: the way she looks on the outside and the way she can feel on the inside. She realizes she was pretty all along.

Casting/Acting: 5/5

No one could have played Renee better than Amy Schumer. What made this movie so enjoyable to watch was that the actors hardly had to act. This is real life! People are living like this! When Renee hit her head and found her confidence, it was hard not to smile. Schumer adds layers of herself to her character for a more authentic main character, someone who can relate to everyone watching, and casting did a fantastic job of this. Her acting was tremendous when she did some of the bolder things Renee would never do before she hit her head. Schumer added her signature sense of humor to these scenes making the movie even more enjoyable. Even casting Emily Ratajkowski and Michelle Williams as the “pretty girls” offered an honest element. These women are the women everyone sees as beautiful, and in comparison to Amy Schumer, it makes audience members notice just how much more amazing Renee is in comparison to these “ideal” women.

Message: 5/5

This has to be one of my favorite movies. The overall message teaches the audience that being pretty comes in different forms, but feeling pretty is a whole different ball game. Pretty doesn’t mean confident, confident means pretty. This is such a hard message to convey since most movies get it completely wrong. Usually, a character will go through a drastic change and want to go back to the way they were, but Renee learns from her new self and discovers that even when she thought she looked like a supermodel and she didn’t, the way she felt on the inside shouldn’t change. She is still the same Renee. There was a part of herself that she didn’t accept before, and that was her trust in herself. She trusted that she felt beautiful and she did, and nothing changed on the outside. That was the magic of the movie. While Renee was still seeing herself as a supermodel, she started changing not only positively, but also negatively. This showed another side to beauty: vanity. Renee started looking for the “hot” things in everything and everybody, trying to change her friends and starting to flirt with other people, but it was her friends who told her that she had changed for the worst. This is the key moment where Renee realizes that true beauty isn’t just what people perceive on the outside, but true beauty is the the way you feel on the inside and staying true to yourself. Renee gets this wake up call and realizes how she has been treating “pretty” people better than average people, and switches back over in the end. She goes back to seeing the perfect woman as the everyday woman who comes in all different looks, shapes, and sizes. The movie also did a great job of showing how everybody has insecurities, not just those who are body conscious. Emily Ratajkowski and Michelle Williams’ characters battled with low self esteem and had different insecurities. Even Renee’s boyfriend Ethan was insecure about himself until Renee brought the confidence out of him. Renee found that she wasn’t the only one battling with her view of herself, but everyone else has their own obstacles they need to face, and the cure to it all is reaching an understanding– that everyone is beautiful no matter what.

This movie is so important for everyone to watch. It’s for everyone and it shows the audience that every single person can feel pretty if they have the proper mindset for it. Confidence is key, and that is how you feel beautiful. I Feel Pretty is empowering, hysterical, and an ode to everyone with insecurities. It’s a movie that actually makes you feel pretty, and that was the overall goal of it.

Overall: 15/15