With the summer movie season fast approaching, it seems as though mega-budgeted action films are about to flood the marketplace. I Feel Pretty is one of the spring’s last smaller flicks; a comedy with an intriguing premise about a woman undergoing an unusual transformation. The movie’s intentions are admirable and it offers some smiles here and there, but unfortunately, it doesn’t do quite enough to stand out from the crowd.

Renee (Amy Schumer) works in the website department for the LeClaire cosmetics company, situated in the basement of a building far away from corporate headquarters. Sheepish, single and lacking in self-esteem, she dreams of having the appearance of the urbane executives and models who populate the upper echelons of the company. Renee’s life is altered drastically when she hits her head during a fitness class. The protagonist suddenly believes she has been transformed into something like a supermodel, oozing self-confidence. She walks into her employer’s main office with a new attitude and is immediately given a position under Avery LeClaire (Michelle Williams). The lead also instigates a relationship with a random stranger named Ethan (Rory Scovel).

Early scenes do a decent job of setting up Renee’s issues and insecurities. The lead actress is given a character far meeker than what audiences are used to seeing, but she sells the role’s unhappiness and inner turmoil in an authentic manner. Of course, much of the humor is derived from her unusual behavior after the accident. The woman’s imaginary changes do result in amusing actions that include twirling like a movie star as she moves through a busy office lobby and misinterpreting innocuous comments as advances. It allows for some entertaining reactions from the supporting characters, who are alternately taken aback and baffled by Renee’s behavior.

The set-up is certainly there for hilarity, but the movie is constrained by following a stilted, romantic-comedy feature formula. As events progress, there isn’t much story-wise that will surprise audiences. After her ideas gain traction in the office and she becomes accustomed to her new persona, the character has to deal with giving an important public presentation. She must also contend with unexpected advances, as well as other downsides to her condition… namely, becoming snootier and more dismissive towards her friends. The jokes are hit and miss, the pacing begins to slow down and the film becomes surprisingly generic and genial. Frankly, it’s disappointing that the screenplay doesn’t strive to be a little more than a run-of-the-mill rom-com.

Its heart is in the right place and the movie does strive to make some points. The screenplay stresses the importance of not curtailing to beauty standards presented by corporations only interested in fostering insecurity to help sell their products. There are a couple of laughs here and there and the feature works in fits and starts, but the end result isn’t particularly memorable. In the end, I Feel Pretty feels like one of those middling features more suited to play on television screens during a lazy Sunday afternoon than spending larger sums of money on at the cinema.