Skinny Bortich and Emily Ratakowski cameo. 7 movies about body positivity and self-love

A perfect reflection in the mirror is not all you need to be happy. And sometimes it is impossible to fit real beauty into conventional standards. But who really puts us limits? Heroes of the movies in this selection proved: self-confidence, charisma and talent – that’s the key to success.

“Beautiful all over the head”

Country: USA, China
Year: 2018
Genre: melodrama, comedy

Renee Bennett works in a large cosmetics firm. She knows everything about the world of beauty, fashion and makeup, but she does not consider herself a beauty. The girl suffers from insecurity because of her excess weight and signs up for a new weight loss program from a famous fitness coach.

During training, Renee falls off the exercise machine and hits her head. Now the world seems different to her: in the mirror she sees a charming blonde with perfect forms. The universe gave her a chance to feel thin and succeed. And although in fact the girl’s appearance has not changed a bit, she has found faith in herself. And this strength is even more stunning than beauty.

“Hairspray”

Country: Great Britain, Canada
Year: 2007
Genre: melodrama, comedy, musical.

On the screen the USA of the 60-s era. Puffy Tracy Turnblad dreams of performing in a dance TV show. Her classmates make fun of her, but Tracy pays no attention to other people’s prejudices. She goes to the casting call and impresses the producers with her talent and charisma. Now she is a rising star that the whole country looks up to.

“Hairspray” is an adaptation of the 1988 musical of the same name, but with a new, absolutely stellar cast: Queen Latifah, Christopher Walken, Michelle Pfeiffer, Nikki Blonsky, Zac Efron and John Travolta as the mother of the main character.

“I’m thin”

Country: Russia
Year: 2018
Genre: comedy

“I’m thin” is a Russian comedy that set a record for box office receipts on the first day of the show. The heroine of Sasha Bortich, Anya, is abandoned by a young man: he is not satisfied with the girl’s forms. To get back his favorite, she goes on a diet and just lives in the gym. And Anya also finds a partner for weight loss, Kolya. The girl achieves her goal and loses 15 kilograms. However, it turns out that the main problems in her life are not associated with excess weight.

Interesting fact: for the filming of the movie Bortich first gained weight, and after losing weight inside the plot with her heroine. Director Alexei Nuzhny and screenwriter Nikolai Kulikov also radically changed their appearance: they dropped 28 and 20 kilograms, respectively.

“200 pounds of beauty”

Country: South Korea
Year: 2006
Genre: comedy

Again a movie about a girl who dreams of becoming a TV star. Kang Han-na sings for the phonogram of a famous, but absolutely talentless singer. But the girl herself wants to perform on stage. The producer refuses to put her in the frame and demands that Kang lose weight. And the heroine chooses a rather radical way: she decides to have plastic surgery and a year later, not looking like herself at all, tries to conquer the stage. But will it bring her happiness?

The story is based on the manga (manhwa) by Yumiko Suzuki “Kanna’s Big Success”. With love for fans of Korean culture.

“Jodi’s Growth” (“Dilda”)

Country: USA
Year: 2019
Genre: comedy

“You probably had a very tall girl in high school. She was teased with ‘Michael Jordan,’ ‘skyscraper,’ ‘Uncle Styopa.’ I’m like her. I’m 16 and my height is 185.5 centimeters. I’m a high school girl who wears size 46 sneakers,” says the main character Jody at the very beginning of the movie. She has always been complex about her height and tried to be invisible. But now it’s time to come out of her shell. Jody falls in love with a new student and it seems to be mutual. More importantly, she loves herself now.

“Little Miss Happiness”

Country: USA
Year: 2006
Genre: drama, comedy

Little Olive wants more than anything in the world to become a new Miss America when she grows up. She starts small: she participates in the contest “Little Miss Happiness”. However, preparing for it requires a lot of effort, because children’s beauty pageants are a complicated and not always honest business. And although Olive is not like the other contestants, no one can prevent her from fighting for her dream. And how to choose the most beautiful child from several dozens of little dolls?

On the set of the movie was fully recreated the setting of the contest. All the participants and their parents are actually winners of children’s beauty competitions. The directors showed the most important thing: what usually happens behind the scene.

“Puffy”

Country: USA
Year: 2018
Genre: comedy, drama

In continuation of the theme of beauty contests – a movie from the creators of the dance hit “Step Up”. The main character Willowdean is the daughter of a former state queen. Only she is not at all like her mother: the girl from childhood was a puffin and did not dream of a sparkling crown at all. The only person who believed in her was her aunt, and her mother always paid more attention to her own career.

To prove to everyone that real beauty does not have to fit into the accepted standards of 90-60-90, Willow applies for a beauty contest. And other plus-size contestants follow her to the casting call.