BEFORE: We had terrible weather in NYC yesterday, the outskirts of the Hurricane Dorian activity, and I'm sure that people down south or in the Bahamas had it much worse. The fall is tropical storm season now, and I think it's getting a little worse every year - but no, it couldn't possibly be due to global warming or the fact that we've broken the planet. I've got both my bosses away at the same film festival in Martha's Vineyard this weekend, so I'm hoping things will clear up for their return on Sunday. I don't like having a non-zero chance of a ferry accident taking away both of my jobs - plus I'm the one who booked their travel, so any problems are partially regarded as my fault. Hey, I'm not responsible for the weather or any delays that it causes.
Amy Schumer carries over from "Snatched".
THE PLOT: A woman struggling with insecurity wakes from a fall believing she is the most beautiful and capable woman on the planet. Her new confidence empowers her to live fearlessly, but what happens when she realizes her appearance never changed?
AFTER: I'm really not supposed to have any regrets, because every film with a valid link gets me one step closer to my goal, but I really want to regret watching this one. Sometimes the worst thing I can say about a person, or a movie, is that it "means well". When you say that a person "means well", what you're saying is that they want to be a good person, or do a good job at something, but they've failed miserably. Who cares if they meant well, what matters is what they DID. They ruined the meal, they embarassed you in front of your friends, or they blabbed that secret that you were trying to keep - oh, but they MEANT WELL, so I guess everything's OK now, only it's not.
This film meant well, in that it tried to champion body positivity, to reinforce the relatively new idea that all women are beautiful in some way, regardless of their weight or their appearance or their weird voice - but I think the pendulum has swung too far in that direction, because either beauty is subjective or it's not, and if you take away all reason from the equation, then there's no motivation for self-improvement. And if everyone's suddenly satisfied with themselves the way that they are, why should anyone eat right or work out or buy new clothes or try to get a better job? Don't get me wrong here, I think all people should strive for self-acceptance and be comfortable in their own skin, but to expect everyone to do THAT just sets another impossible standard, and that's what encouraging self-acceptance was designed to avoid in the first place. So even if someone isn't perfect, they shouldn't get down on themselves because that creates a negative spiral, and it's tough to be depressed AND imperfect, sure, but come on.
Now instead of telling women that they have to be beautiful, skinny and perfect, we're expecting those who may not be those things to suddenly become self-confident, successful and happy, too - creating another goal instead of erasing the goals. So if you ask me, this film ends up sending out exactly the wrong message by depicting a character who can only be self-confident after getting a blow to the head. At best, this suggests that self-acceptance is not possible through conventional means, and at worst it's going to send women out in search of a fitness center concussion accident that will give them a similar boost of delusion-based confidence. Why not some form of therapy to learn how to become truly happy, or set out on a personal quest to learn what would help develop some happiness, which can only really come from within?
Yes, ultimately this film delivers the message that tangible things like make-up and clothing can't bring happiness, that only people can change their attitudes internally - so then why is happiness even PART of the make-up pitch, why mention it at all? Why does the woman who suddenly, almost magically gains self-confidence also start acting terrible to her friends? Couldn't it be possible to have self-confidence and also treat other people right? There's nothing about self-confident people that also says they have to be assholes, why assume that those two personality traits go hand-in-hand? Suggesting this is very dangerous - younger women might see this and think, "I don't want to be self-confident, if that means I'm going to start belittling my friends or ignoring their feelings."
What someone was going for here was something along the lines of "Shallow Hal", or maybe even "It's a Wonderful Life", though that's a little more of a stretch. Someone has an encounter that leads to a delusion, and ultimately they learn a better way to live their life. But at least in "Shallow Hal" we got to SEE the delusion Jack Black's character was seeing, so it was easier to understand. And in "It's a Wonderful Life", George Bailey learned that his life was important, that every man has friends, and that he did make a difference in their lives. We're shown the reverse here, that once you get a better job and gain a better self-image, it's OK to trash your old friends and trade up.
It's disappointing when Renee suddenly becomes this person that succeeds, because by gaining this new persona, based on a delusion, she's jettisoned everything that was important to her before - though she FEELS happy about it, and that's the problem. And I guess it self-perpetuates, because success leads to more self-confidence, which leads to more achievements, which leads to more success, and so on. Why couldn't she just do this before, or do this without a head injury? The film then shoots itself in the foot if her success is based on a delusion. And then it's even more disappointing when the delusion, or "magic" goes away, because suddenly she feels that she CAN'T do those things, she DOESN'T deserve that boyfriend - but she DID those things! The very fact that she's in that new job, that she has that new boyfriend, that proves those things are possible - why can't she see that?
NITPICK POINT: I disliked the implication that we're all supposed to know what a "diffusion" line of cosmetics is - from the context, I gather that it's a high-end brand that wants to start selling its merchandise in more middle-class stores like Target or K-Mart, but not all of us understand the finer points of cosmetics and fashion, so maybe dumb that part down a little, OK? Plus that seems like a very cheap plot device to get to the point you're trying to make about "normal" women. So, middle-class women are also the ones who tend to be overweight and not so beautiful? The ones who need make-up? Kiss my ass.
NITPICK POINT #2: The lead character was afraid to apply for a receptionist position at the cosmetics company because there was some kind of requirement that the receptionist be "beautiful". That's illegal with regards to hiring practices, by the way, even if you accept that beauty is subjective - equal opportunity laws say that people can't be turned down for a job because of the way they look. There can be a dress code, sure, but anything beyond that is considered a form of discrimination. A better film could have been made here if she applied for the position, got turned down because of her looks or her weight, and then sued to get the job.
The whole scene in the restaurant, after Renee loses her delusion, where she breaks up with Ethan, made no sense at all. She goes there in person, believing he will not recognize her (because she thinks her appearance has changed, but it hasn't) and then texts him from across the room to tell him she can't make it there. Then he comes over and talks to her, and she talks to him, then she suddenly has to leave, then calls him on the phone to say she can't come to meet him. This convoluted mess of a scene only works if you believe the lead character is insane or incredibly stupid, and yet this takes place AFTER she regains her original personality. So, that's a big fail.
To make matters worse, she only "learns" anything when she talks to a beautiful, skinny woman who has just been dumped by a boyfriend, and who also suffers from low self-esteem. WHAT? You mean women who are skinnny and beautiful don't lead magical, charmed lives where nothing bad ever happens to them? Can she really be THAT stupid? Again, this is supposed to be AFTER she's had some sense knocked back into her, when she's supposed to be thinking clearly - so I guess this proves she never had her head screwed on right in the first place? Great, another terrible depiction of a "normal" woman in a film that's supposed to be championing them.
I think too many companies have jumped on to this "diversity" band-wagon, and they've done it for the wrong reasons - not because they genuinely want to depict the world the way it is in their advertisements, but because it's "trendy" to be inclusive. Last Christmas season I noticed that nearly every department store commercial featured an inter-racial couple, and it was so noticable that it started to come off as insincere. The year before that, gay couples were all the rage in advertising, and this year, who knows? Maybe it will be transgender people - but they won't be doing it because they're interested in equality, they'll be doing it with the motivation of profit. The same sort of goes for plus-sized women, like have you noticed that they put Aidy Bryant in nearly every skit on "SNL"? She often gets the most screen-time because the show wants to send out the message of "Look how supportive we are of larger women, we're not just feeding into the impossible standard that all women on TV need to be skinny!" And again, too much of that just ends up feeling very insincere.
Also starring Michelle Williams (last seen in "All the Money in the World"), Rory Scovel (last seen in "The House"), Tom Hopper, Aidy Bryant (last seen in "The Big Sick"), Busy Philipps (last seen in "The Gift" (2015)), Emily Ratajkowski (last seen in "Gone Girl"), Lauren Hutton (last seen in "Once Bitten"), Adrian Martinez (last seen in "Office Christmas Party"), Sasheer Zamata (last seen in "Yoga Hosers"), Naomi Campbell (last seen in "George Michael: Freedom"), Dave Attell (last seen in "Gilbert"), Olivia Culpo, Camille Kostek, Angela Davis (last seen in "Venom"), Caroline Day, Kyle Grooms, Nikki Glaser (last seen in "Trainwreck"), Kevin Kane (also carrying over from "Snatched").
RATING: 2 out of 10 Soulcycle sessions
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