Abby Kohn
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That's not a gradual shift but a sudden one, the result of a spin-class accident that takes place not long after a direct reference to the life-altering presto change-o in Big.
They're similarly blunt about from where they borrowed their idea, directly referencing “Big” in the movie.
A pivotal scene before Barrett's inner transformation has the character watching the classic Tom Hank's film Big.
The film even includes a glimpse of Big, in case the Tom Hanks-starring '80s hit didn't instantly spring to mind.
Early on, there’s a brief scene in which Renee guzzles wine and watches Big on TV, a wink to the magic realism of its plot twist – or a tell that this was an unfilmed script from 1988.
Watching “Big” on TV one night, she gets to thinking about wish fulfillment.
Then there’s the standard makeover theme you’ll remember from Working Girl, Miss Congeniality, or another Kohn-Silverstein project, Never Been Kissed.
The film takes a cue from “Working Girl,” “The Devil Wears Prada” and other Manhattan-set corporate fables.
As she inspires others around her, the movie winds up hitting a rousing home run that recalls the classic Melanie Griffith comedy “Working Girl” and even feels akin to being a “Rocky” for women.
The script acknowledges its roots in the comic subgenre of bodily transformation (at one point, Renee watches "Big"), and its executive-suite drama plays like a thinner, blander version of "Working Girl," "The Devil Wears Prada" and other satires of Manhattan upward mobility.
Unlike say the Farrelly Brothers movie “Shallow Hal,” which cast Gwyneth Paltrow as the inner beauty of a 300-pound woman that her shallow paramour (Jack Black) sees after being hypnotized, Kohn and Silverstein never allow us to see what Renee glimpses when she stares at her reflection.
We don’t see what Renee thinks she sees (presumably to avoid the pitfalls of something like Shallow Hal), but whatever it is, it gives her the confidence that’s long eluded her – to go for the guys she likes and the job she wants and to be her best self, etc.
I Feel Pretty—it has nothing to do with the West Side Story number of that name—is a high-concept comedy, that could be called a more inward-facing semi-remake of the Jack Black comedy Shallow Hal.
This conceit, a mish-mash/role reversal of the plot from the equally problematic 2001 comedy Shallow Hal, is rife with holes.
I Feel Pretty uses that entry point for its Shallow Hal-like premise: after wishing that she could be pretty on a stormy night, Renee falls off her SoulCycle bike and wakes up to see the supermodel version of herself staring back at her.
The confident directorial debuts of screenwriters Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (2016's " How to Be Single "), the film takes a wish-fulfillment fantasythink "Big" (which this film rather wonderfully references) crossed with an inverted "Shallow Hal"and wisely sidesteps all of the potentially hypocritical traps and misguided double standards into which it easily could have fallen.
13 Going on 30 (2004)
Directed by Gary Winick
influenced I Feel Pretty (2018)
Characters Plot Themes
Schumer acts like she’s possessed by her childhood self, in command of the material but absent some of the searching thoughtfulness that Jennifer Garner brought to “13 Going on 30.”
That is, until she gets knocked on the head and wakes up convinced that she’s been magically transformed into a drop-dead gorgeous model type with rock-hard abs in some kind of high-concept fairy-tale scenario in the vein of Big (specifically referenced) or 13 Going On 30 .
The general theme of the film feels cribbed from movies like The Devil Wears Prada, 13 Going on 30, and Big.
In an original riff on such outlandish yet endearing body-swap classics as “13 Going on 30” and “Big,” Renee suddenly believes that she’s been upgraded to a flawless super-bod.
The Amy Schumer vehicle “I Feel Pretty” is the latest entry in a long line of ridiculous but often quite funny films such as “Big,” “Shallow Hal,” “Freaky Friday,” “13 Going on 30” and “The Changeup,” in which the main character is profoundly unsatisfied with the current state of things — and then experiences some kind of magic moment that changes everything.
Maybe she imagined it would be like 13 Going On 30.
I Feel Pretty, written and directed by Abby Kohn and Marc Silversteen (the team behind the movies Never Been Kissed and How to Be Single) has a lot to unpack, including themes of body image, self-esteem and self-confidence, dating and relationships, appearances, the messages of advertising and the importance of friends.
Based on that summary, you might be tempted to dismiss "I Feel Pretty" sight unseen, and not merely because the past work of writer-directors Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (who together wrote the screenplays for "How to Be Single" and "He's Just Not That Into You") doesn't inspire confidence.
Charting Renee's transformation, seasoned rom-com writers-turned-directors Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (He's Just Not That Into You, The Vow, How to be Single) craft a typical "make a wish" flick, but set their sights on body image.
Produced by McG (so enjoy the irony of a film about unrealistic beauty standards coming from the guy who made the Charlie’s Angels movies) and written and directed by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (the team behind the passable How To Be Single and the vomitorious He’s Just Not That Into You), I Feel Pretty finds Schumer playing Renee, a self-hating would-be career girl whose near-concussion in a Soul Cycle class prompts her to believe she is, per her longtime wish, “undeniably pretty.”
But screenwriters Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein, the minds behind scripts for films like Never Been Kissed, The Vow and How to Be Single making their feature-length directorial debut, can’t seem to get beyond sitcom platitudes.
Veteran rom-com screenwriters Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (He’s Just Not That Into You, How to Be Single , Never Been Kissed) make their directorial debut with a story straight out of a 1980s high-concept comedy: Renee Bennett (Schumer) is a frustrated single woman in a dead-end job working for the online portal of beauty company Lily LeClaire.
“Schumer’s wide facial features reminded me of a blonde Lou Costello around the time of Buck Privates, or Jennifer Aniston‘s somewhat heavier, not-as-lucky sister who watches a lot of TV.” Wells was rightfully called out for this nonsense, not only by the online community, but by Schumer herself – both on Twitter and in the 12 Angry Menepisode of Inside Amy Schumer, which amounted to a 30-minute middle finger to Wells.
"...Schumer’s wide facial features reminded me of a blonde Lou Costello around the time of Buck Privates, or Jennifer Aniston’s somewhat heavier, not-as-lucky sister who watches a lot of TV.”
The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Directed by David Frankel
influenced I Feel Pretty (2018)
Characters Themes Plot
She's Peter from Office Space meets The Devil Wears Prada’s Andy Sachs, a girl who inadvertently frees herself of expectations while navigating a glamorous labyrinth whose inhabitants mostly view her like some sort of Tolkien bridge troll.
The general theme of the film feels cribbed from movies like The Devil Wears Prada, 13 Going on 30, and Big.
It seems I Feel Pretty might take a note from The Devil Wears Prada’s love triangle subplot.
When it comes to fashion satire, The Devil Wears Prada this is not.
The film takes a cue from “Working Girl,” “The Devil Wears Prada” and other Manhattan-set corporate fables.
Much like Anne Hathaway’s down-to-earth character in “The Devil Wears Prada,” Schumer wrestles with the toxic allure of the high-end world in which she works, alienating her friends and jeopardizing her new romance with nice guy Scovel when a fling with Avery’s playboy brother (Tom Hopper) presents itself.
I Feel Pretty thinks it’s radically expanding the idea of who gets to be considered a leading lady, but it’s not doing anything Bridget Jones’s Diary didn’t do 17 years ago, with a far less self-congratulatory pat on the back.
After all this, Renee gets home and strips down to her bra and her shapewear (a rom-com relic first canonized by Bridget Jones’s Diary , when Hugh Grant snaps Renée Zellweger’s “scuba suit”), and stands in front of a full-length mirror.
There’s a pretty simple reading of the new Amy Schumer movie from writer-directors Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (the writing duo behind “Never Been Kissed” and “He’s Just Not That Into You”) because every headline focuses on Amy Schumer, the stand-up comic turned Emmy-winning sketch comedy force (“Inside Amy Schumer”) who teamed up with Judd Apatow for her feature film breakout (“Trainwreck”).
I Feel Pretty, written and directed by Abby Kohn and Marc Silversteen (the team behind the movies Never Been Kissed and How to Be Single) has a lot to unpack, including themes of body image, self-esteem and self-confidence, dating and relationships, appearances, the messages of advertising and the importance of friends.
Although making their co-directorial debut behind the camera, a look at their screenplay filmography is sufficient to create a sense of trepidation: Never Been Kissed , He’s Just Not That Into You , Valentine’s Day , The Vow , How to Be Single .
Then there’s the standard makeover theme you’ll remember from Working Girl, Miss Congeniality, or another Kohn-Silverstein project, Never Been Kissed.
It’s written and directed by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein, the creative team behind the sweet and underrated tearjerker The Vow and most notably for the goofy gem Never Been Kissed.
But screenwriters Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein, the minds behind scripts for films like Never Been Kissed, The Vow and How to Be Single making their feature-length directorial debut, can’t seem to get beyond sitcom platitudes.
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009)
Directed by Phil Lord
influenced I Feel Pretty (2018)
Themes
These scenes reminded me of a truism relayed in the fabulous 2009 film Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs: “You can’t run away from your own feet.”
The greatest of this genre must be Moonstruck, a film in which no explicit spell is cast but instead, Shakespeare-like, Cher and Nicolas Cage’s beings bounce off one another into a perfectly choreographed future.
Rory Scovel, a seasoned comedic actor, is charming as Renee’s boyfriend, but he too seems a little too much like a reboot of Chris O’Dowd’s character in Bridesmaids.
And as the self-confident Renee, she’s effective in her ebullience, even if she’s nowhere near as endearing as Rebel Wilson in Pitch Perfect or Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids (two plus-sized actresses allowed the rare opportunity to play assertive and sex-positive roles).
It’s even kind of rote, at this point, for loosely feminist romantic comedies, post– Bridget Jones , post- Bridesmaids , post– Obvious Child , even post–Amy Schumer’s first feature, Trainwreck —modern heroines fall in love with men, yes, but also, almost more importantly, with themselves.
And finally, unfortunately, the movie threatens to head into the gross-us-out bodily-functions territory of so many male buddy films (as well as Bridesmaids with an extended and not-so-funny bit about Renee’s coworker not wanting her to hear him using the bathroom.
It was 2011, and the movie was “Bridesmaids.”
Apart from a pair of consistently hilarious yet realistic-looking gal pals played by Aidy Bryant and Busy Philipps, nearly every woman on-screen looks like she was designed by the retrograde computer program two John Hughes hornballs used to conjure virtual girlfriend Kelly LeBrock in “Weird Science.”
There’s a pretty simple reading of the new Amy Schumer movie from writer-directors Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (the writing duo behind “Never Been Kissed” and “He’s Just Not That Into You”) because every headline focuses on Amy Schumer, the stand-up comic turned Emmy-winning sketch comedy force (“Inside Amy Schumer”) who teamed up with Judd Apatow for her feature film breakout (“Trainwreck”).
Although making their co-directorial debut behind the camera, a look at their screenplay filmography is sufficient to create a sense of trepidation: Never Been Kissed , He’s Just Not That Into You , Valentine’s Day , The Vow , How to Be Single .
Based on that summary, you might be tempted to dismiss "I Feel Pretty" sight unseen, and not merely because the past work of writer-directors Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (who together wrote the screenplays for "How to Be Single" and "He's Just Not That Into You") doesn't inspire confidence.
Charting Renee's transformation, seasoned rom-com writers-turned-directors Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (He's Just Not That Into You, The Vow, How to be Single) craft a typical "make a wish" flick, but set their sights on body image.
Produced by McG (so enjoy the irony of a film about unrealistic beauty standards coming from the guy who made the Charlie’s Angels movies) and written and directed by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (the team behind the passable How To Be Single and the vomitorious He’s Just Not That Into You), I Feel Pretty finds Schumer playing Renee, a self-hating would-be career girl whose near-concussion in a Soul Cycle class prompts her to believe she is, per her longtime wish, “undeniably pretty.”
Veteran rom-com screenwriters Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (He’s Just Not That Into You, How to Be Single , Never Been Kissed) make their directorial debut with a story straight out of a 1980s high-concept comedy: Renee Bennett (Schumer) is a frustrated single woman in a dead-end job working for the online portal of beauty company Lily LeClaire.
I’ve been watching body-positive comedies since the 1996 remake of The Nutty Professor, and I have to say that this one doesn’t do anything particularly new.
Valiantly, Michelle Williams takes the role of cosmetics firm CEO Avery LeClair, a supremely put-together woman who looks like Gwyneth Paltrow but sounds like a sedated version of Lina Lamont from “Singin’ in the Rain.”
You’ve Got Mail turns strangers passing in the street into soulmates.
Office Space (1999)
Directed by Mike Judge
influenced I Feel Pretty (2018)
Visuals Characters Themes
In I Feel Pretty, Schumer is Renee Bennett, a New York-based high-end fashion company website manager who toils away in a converted Office Space-like basement.
She's Peter from Office Space meets The Devil Wears Prada’s Andy Sachs, a girl who inadvertently frees herself of expectations while navigating a glamorous labyrinth whose inhabitants mostly view her like some sort of Tolkien bridge troll.
Renee is an exile at work (an existential situation that worked better in Mike Judge’s movie “Office Space”), but when she is summoned to LeClair headquarters she glimpses another world.
Schumer plays Renee, a New Yorker working at the low end of the online department of Lily LeClaire, a top line cosmetics company; her basement office, a metaphor for her station in life, is basically Milton’s from “Office Space.”
It is also a company that clearly specialises in hiring leftovers from New York Fashion Week to populate its building, which itself lands somewhere between a Google office and a set from Zoolander (2001).
Then there’s the standard makeover theme you’ll remember from Working Girl, Miss Congeniality, or another Kohn-Silverstein project, Never Been Kissed.