When I saw the first couple of shots from the trailer of the new movie, I Feel Pretty, I was excited and immediately thought that this is a movie I'd like to see. However, watching the rest of the trailer, I not only got some bad vibes but I also felt personally offended.
The first bit of the trailer shows the leading actress and comedian, Amy Schumer, shopping in a clothing store when an employee tells her that she might have better luck finding her size online. In another shot, Schumer passionately rants about body image in society; I'm completely buying into this movie. A couple of months ago I wrote an article touching on my personal body image journey and how much I've learned throughout my life. The thought that a major movie promoting my values was going to be on screen in just a couple of months had me eager to get to a theater. Then the tone shifted.
I'll let you watch the trailer for yourself, but basically what happens is Schumer's character falls off the bike in spinning class and suffers a major brain injury. This injury somehow makes her believe that she is utterly gorgeous and endlessly desirable.
The problem I have with this movie, besides the fact that she needed to suffer brain damage to believe that she is beautiful, is that Amy Schumer is clearly a fit, beautiful, and healthy woman. The whole tone of this trailer suggests that these things are not true yet she choses to laugh through it and say "screw you, world!" The tone says that "no, American society does not see people like Amy Schumer as beautiful, but have confidence; that's all you need." No! I'm sick of it being assumed that a person of any size can be beautiful, attractive, and confident just as they are.
I feel that this movie is a missed opportunity to really explain to society that beauty doesn't have one shape. What it seems to be doing is mildly teaching some sort of lesson on confidence while also poking fun and cracking one-liners about being remotely plus-sized.
I can't condemn an entire movie based on its 2-minute long trailer, yet I can't get over how unpretty it made me feel. I will more than likely see the movie to investigate whether if this was just a bad trailer or if this movie truly is 5 steps in the wrong direction for body positivity. I honestly hope the film redeems itself and proves me wrong.