I Feel Pretty is a new film about being single and the challenges that come along. ( It's currently in theaters. )
Amy Schumer plays Renee Bennett, who suffers an injury one day, resulting in her injuries being forgotten and her gaining newfound confidence. Actresses Aidy Bryant and Busy Philipps complete the circle of friends who support each other in the tough city.
Schumer originally grew to be popular on the fifth season of the NBC competition show Last Comic Standing. She used that notoriety to create the memorable Comedy Central series Inside Amy Schumer. The movie Trainwreck brought a Golden Globe nomination and afterwards Snatched had her working with her idol Goldie Hawn. Schumer published her memoir The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo in 2016 and the following year landed on Broadway in Meteor Shower.
Bryant is best known for Saturday Night Live sketches and has a history with Chicago after studying at Columbia College. She performed at theaters familiar to many locals, including iO Chicago, The Second City and the Annoyance Theatre in the past.
Windy City Times: Let's start off with me saying I want to make a sequel to the movie called I Feel Gay.
Amy Schumer: I love that.
Aidy Bryant: Yes!
WCT: It could be a story about a straight man being hit in the head who then thinks he's gay.
AS: That's a great idea. Write that up!
WCT: You both could play the gay best friends. Why wasn't there a gay bestie in I Feel Pretty?
AS: I was the gay best friend! Now that you mention there wasn't a gay best friend. That sucks. Just so you know we did offer a role to John Early from Search Party. He couldn't because he was filming.
AB: We didn't just want a gay best friend, we wanted THE gay best friend.
AS: Not that he always needs to play gay…
AB: He's hilarious.
WCT: There was a gay moment in I Feel Pretty when your character, Renee, mistakes a gay couple for straight.
AB: You are right.
AS: Also, Michelle Williams seems like she was creeping on me. It didn't wind up in the movie that much.
AB: There's definitely some romance there.
WCT: What do you want to tell people about the movie?
AS: I think they will have a good time. It's a good movie to see in the movie theater and a [joint fun] experience, so go with a group.
It's not something that directly addresses people from the LGBT or people of color, it's not that movie, but it is about feeling good in your own skin, however you are.
It's not about how you look. That's why there was a little weird backlash saying that I wasn't unattractive enough to feel bad about myself. That was so nice, but it's about a woman who struggles with self esteem, which everyone does.
The message of realizing it is all about how you feel is universal to everyone. I really think that everyone will dig this movie!
WCT: I can see how an audience of people who were bullied or picked on could easily identify with the movie.
AS: Yes, and it's not the people that you would think. You don't think people like Michelle Williams or Emily Ratajkowski would ever have a bad day.
WCT: It reminded me of Pretty Woman and The Truth About Cats & Dogs.
AS: I loved that movie! What an honor to be referenced with those wonderful classic movies.
It's true and not about how other people make you feel. It's about how you make yourself feel. When you listen to a handful of people's criticisms or experiences of you, this is not your reality. Your reality is how you feel and how you really are.
WCT: How did you get involved with I Feel Pretty, Aidy?
AB: Just cash! I wanted money.
AS: I slipped her an envelope. I don't know if there's a trail of it.
AB: Amy and I are friends so she mentioned it to me.
AS: I would say we are good friends.
AB: We are becoming friends…
AS: Wow.
WCT: Getting to know each other on this press tour? [All laugh.]
AB: That enticed me plus the message of the movie is something I truly believe in. It has certainly been a part of my journey. Even though I am usually on TV, I can exist here too. There's a place for me. I was overjoyed to do it with Amy, and to be a part of something.
WCT: Do you really have a "90210" tattoo on your leg?
AB: No.
AS: But, it was hard to get off, right?
AB: I actually had it on for weeks, because the first time we shot something I went back to New York for a while. They didn't help me take it off with the special makeup stuff so I truly had that tattoo for two weeks. I tried so hard to never take it off.
WCT: I heard I Feel Pretty was moved up to not compete with Avengers: Infinity War. If you were going to be a superhero, who would you be?
AS: Pizza Girl!
AB: Okay, I will be Wine Woman. I would have wine that comes out of my pinkie fingers and drowns villains.
WCT: You could throw pizzas at people, Amy.
AS: Isn't that what the Teenage Ninja Turtles do?
WCT: Well, they eat pizza. I heard you had you dog on the set of the movie.
AS: Yes. She's here.
AB: She's in one of these cabinets.
WCT: What's her name?
AS: Tatiana Maslany. She's named after the actress in Orphan Black.
WCT: Where is Busy Philipps from I Feel Pretty, by the way? Is she too busy to come to Chicago?
AB: She's vacationing in Hawaii.
AS: She's a mother, wife and an activist—so very active. I think we are trying to spread the cast around, like a virus!
AB: I am from Chicago a little bit. I used to live here. I was at Second City, so I fought for this date.
WCT: You went to Oak Park for school, didn't you?
AB: Yes.
AS: And my sister lived here, not together with Aidy though…
WCT: You went to dinner with Jennifer Lawrence right by my house last time you visited, Amy, and then attended the Billy Joel concert in Wrigley Field where he sang to the two of you on top of his piano.
AS: Yes! I love Chicago. Some of my best times have been here. We did get to pick where to kick off this press tour and it's here.
WCT: Amy, is your movie with Jennifer still in the works?
AS: Yes, probably in the next year or so.
AB: They asked me to direct.
AS: No, we didn't.
AB: I am taking it on and so excited.
AS: We are going to ask you to leave if you show up on the set, Aidy.
AB: Well, I got a little hat, a chair, and a directing horn to shout through.
AS: I keep telling her that's not what directing is all about…
WCT: I got this all written down for the record. It's official: You are the director of the Lawrence and Schumer project, Aidy.
AB: Great!
WCT: How was your Broadway experience in Steve Martin's Meteor Shower?
AS: It was awesome. Aidy doesn't count it because I didn't sing.
AB: Sorry, when you sing on Broadway I will give you the cred!
AS: Well, it was amazing and a total dream come true.
WCT: Would you ever do a Broadway musical?
AS: Maybe where I would just hum. I don't think I would be good in any Broadway musical, but it would be fun.
AB: I can't dance, but I can sing all day!
AS: I just like to see musicals and I respect that I am not good at them. I saw Hamilton last night here. It was really good.
WCT: The cast is very good.
AS: Oh, my God—the best!
WCT: Have you heard from celebrities that you have done impressions of, Aidy?
AB: Not really. I have met Adele and she's lovely, but I never get a phone call the next day saying, "How dare you!"
WCT: Are you doing more stand-up, Amy?
AS: Yes, I have some dates on the books. I am trying to remain healthy and happy. I burn the candle at both ends too much, so I am trying to be kinder to myself, but I am doing a bunch of stand-up coming up.
WCT: How was opening up for Madonna on tour?
AS: It was the shit. She's the queen. That was really fun. I felt very connected to my gay and lesbian brothers and sisters up there. That was insane, then she opened for me at Madison Square Garden.
WCT: Did you ever picture your life like this?
AS: No. I wanted to live in a Beaches like apartment with my sister in Manhattan. I thought I would perform, but wait tables forever, so no I didn't see any of this. I had no goals. If I teach anyone one thing, it's to not have goals!
I Feel Pretty is currently in theaters.
