The best parts of the movie were 1. the scene that featured the visit by the character Estella with Ana requesting an extension but assuming the businesswoman did not speak Spanish but she did, and 2. the cinematography of the town from Ana's neighborhood to Beverly Hills High - I actually began to think the film was filmed in a Latin country until I saw the metro sign on the bus and signs of Beverly Hills. That was brilliant. But the rest of the movie proved to be a disappointment. One of the main lessons I've learned in scriptwriting (not that I'm any expert) is to make the protagonist, no matter how loathsome, redeeming if but in a sliver of his/her character so that the audience will root for him/her and stay with the film. I kept wanting to root for Ana, and the only reason I did at all was when she was verbally attacked about her weight. But it wasn't enough. Even her moments of epiphany, when she realized how much work went into one dress, or when she saw the scar she left her mother, were played flatly against the intense negativity of her character overall. But since attacks on her weight weren't in every line of the film, I spent more time being irritated and wishing the movie featured more of an in depth picture of her mother or sister - much more likable characters despite their obvious flaws. What I realized by the end of the movie was that the best parts of the film, outside the aforementioned, were shown in the clips and trailers. And even then, when one of those scenes were played out - the one when the women showed their cellulite to each other and finished making the dresses in their underwear -I didn't feel empowered as a plus size woman - I just kept wondering if their sweat would ruin the dresses. This movie did not support its hype.
Review of Real Women Have Curves
