I like Amy Schumer as a performer; she is smart and funny and seems fearless.  I also find her very attractive, which makes the premise of I Feel Pretty, in which she is cast as a woman who does not believe she is attractive, rather amorphous.  Schumer’s public persona is very much like the “confident” version of her character here, so the “insecure” version seems like a stretch to me.  And while the film certainly has a message to deliver — especially in the aftermath of the “MeToo” movement — it also plays things safe, opting for a typical Hollywood conclusion where everything works out for the best.

The film, written and directed by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein, is an odd mixture of well-meaning self-help, traditional romantic comedy, a little bit of raucous depravity and pointed satire about the beauty industry.  Schumer’s Renee Bennett is an idealistic everywoman stuck in a job where she is not appreciated, and rarely noticed.  Her curves set her apart from the bony beauties who populate the beauty company where she works, but her sudden confidence, acquired in a bump to the head, overcomes all obstacles.  The story leads to the inevitable point that Renee loses her confidence and has to deal with who she really is, and to its credit, handles that task pretty well.  Points are made about inclusiveness and simply accepting and appreciating people for who they are, especially when they are somewhat different than one’s regular crowd.

Its comic tone is uneven.  Scenes of genuine feeling are mixed and interspersed with bathroom humor, hinted salaciousness (this is rated PG-13, not R) and a weird vibe at the Lily LeClaire beauty company.  Michelle Williams plays Avery LeClaire, the seemingly spacey company head with a tremulous high-pitched voice; her portrayal is strikingly odd until it is shown that she, too, suffers some of the same indignities as Renee, and deserves to be treated with respect just as Renee does.  Then it is Girl Power to the final fadeout.

This is a well-meaning movie that never quite hits its stride.  A protracted sequence involving a wet t-shirt contest is painful to watch, and terribly tame.  How Renee hangs on to her job after fleeing from her assignment in Boston is never adequately explained.  The story begs for a sharper edge, yet the writing opts for familiar tropes and easy answers more often than not.  For me, anyway, Amy Schumer is just too attractive to not feel pretty most of the time, which sort of cancels out the theme and its permutations.  And yet the movie has a poignant point to make, and eventually does so.  ☆ ☆ 1/2.  19 June 2018.