A 2018 movie directed by Abby Kohn, Marc Silverstein and starring the comedian Amy Schumer discusses (contradictory) the issue of self-esteem, standards of beauty and self-confidence of women.
In a light romantic comedy, humorous and predictable, Renee Bennett (Amy Schumer) is an extremely insecure girl with problems of acceptance with her own body. Always comparing herself with other women and decreasing herself due to her appearance that runs off from the beauty standards. Until, miraculously, after suffering an accident in a gym class and hitting her head, begins to see herself as she always wanted to be: “beautiful”.
Image Source: IMDb
The interpretation of Amy Schumer managed to follow the trajectory of the character, but not captured as many laughs as well. The intent of the discussion and questioning proposed by the film is essential, but was executed in a not as consistent way. In an era of growth of the thought about “body positive”, the movie that has as its main character a woman who somehow escapes from the standards of beauty (tall women, defined and skinny), just strengthens stereotypical thinking in society: the beautiful is thin. The character in every moment that looked in the mirror and likes what she saw, reinforced characteristics of a lean and defined body.
Another inconsistency in the movie is, once again, proposing as a protagonist a white woman, blond and blue-eyed, positioning her as “off the charts”. There is also the banalization and humorization of common scenes of sexual harassment and the sexualization of the woman’s body, in one of the main scenes of the film.
As previously said, the film had as target of debate an extremely important and valid theme for women today, but managed through some deviations and conventions to perform the contrary and reinforce standards. A woman can go wherever she wants, do whatever she wants and be what she wants. To love oneself is something that adds, overflows. But not aiming at a pattern, but enjoying each of its peculiarities and singularities. The image we have of ourselves says much more than the image that others possess of us.