298. I Feel Pretty; movie review

I FEEL PRETTY
Cert 12A
110 mins
BBFC advice: Contains moderate sex, sex references, language

According to believable statistics, Amy Schumer weighs 73 kilogrammes (around 11 and a half stone) and is 170cm or 5ft 7ins tall.
This does, indeed, mean she is overweight - according to the body mass index calculator - by.... just over a kilogramme.
In other words, a few brisk walks and a day or two of fruit and she will be back to what medical science sees as normal.
In addition, a quick flick through the images of her on Google (there are literally thousands) provide evidence that she is attractive enough to have been a model.
True, she is not a conventional beauty nor is her body shape often represented on the cat walk but to most average people, she would be considered eye-catching.
Therefore, it was the oddest of experiences to watch I Feel Pretty - a movie in which her character is supposedly so ugly that she cannot even spark the attention even of a bartender to sell her a drink.
It is not as if she has been made up like Gwyneth Paltrow in Shallow Hal. This is Amy Schumer looking just like... Amy Schumer.
And yet it takes a bang on her head for her to believe that she is good-looking even though her appearance has not changed at all.
This delusion means she is suddenly infused with the confidence which she perceives all handsome people have.
Thus, the focus of Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein's movie surrounds what happens if ugly, awkward girl is suddenly able to enter the hallowed world of the beautiful people.
This concept would have been likely to have fallen flat even if Schumer had not been its conduit but she guarantees its failure.
I think its makers are trying to suggest that attractiveness should not be skin deep but they do so in  a cack-handed, unfunny and even offensive way.
If they are trying to forward the cause of the plain of face, they should have had the bottle to include one or two among their cast.
As it happens, even one of Renee's supposedly nerdy friends is played by Busy Philipps who, in real life, gives beauty, health and fashion tips.
I Feel Pretty was so wrong it could not even be saved by one of the world's great actresses - Michelle Williams.
She plays the spoilt heiress to a fashion brand who seeks the advice of low-at-heel Renee and is the best feature of the picture.
Indeed, her make-up and voice are so different to her norm that I had to do a double-take to confirm it was her.
Perhaps she deliberately wanted to avoid recognition. This would have been wider than her decision to take part in such a lame project.

Reasons to watch: If you obsessed with body shape and image
Reasons to avoid: Is nearer offensive than funny

Laughs: One
Jumps: None
Vomit: Yes
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 3.5/10

The big question - Why did so many intelligent people not see its flaws during production?

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