It’s tough being a teenager these days. Performing well at school, being confident enough to stand among the crowd, and showing great future potential are only a few things that put pressure on kids these days. However, it’s tougher being bulkier than others at school. You are not only under the pressure of meeting the unprecedented beauty standards set by social media, but you also have to deal with bullies who are eager to make you the butt of all the jokes they can conjure up from their insecurities. In Claire Ayoub’s “Empire Waist” Lenore (Mia Kalpan) is a plus-sized teen who, in order to avoid being on the other side of the jokes, revels in being invisible.
Donned in all black, Lenore enjoys being the outcast who doesn’t talk to anybody. I mean, you can’t be on the wrong side of the wrath of the bullies if you don’t face them, right? Lenore keeps her head down, replies in class only when needed, and often keeps herself busy with her sketchbook; drawing dresses that she makes as a pastime. The dresses never actually leave her closet, even though she has a supportive father, Mark (Rainn Wilson). This is largely because her strict mother, Missi (Rachel), is obsessed with fitness and insists on helping her become more disciplined and lean.
However, her life and invisibility take a drastic turn when she is paired up for a class project with Kayla (Jemima Yevu) – another plus-sized teen, who is the polar opposite of Lenore. She is talky, confident, comfortable in her skin, and wears the extra weight like a badge of honor. Kayla, despite the initial reluctance shown by Lenore, is able to pierce through her invisibility, helping her gain confidence in her design, and eventually herself. The two of them enter into a fashion design competition and along the way make more outcasts their accomplices. Marcy (Daisy Washington), Diamond (Kassandra Tellez), and Tina (Holly McDowell) join the girls in their tryst to use clothes as empowering tools to free themselves from the restrictions that their bodies and most importantly, society somehow impose on them.
There are more conflicts thrown in for good measure now and then. For instance, there’s the mean girl at school in Slyvie (Isabella Pisacane), whose attempts to fat-shame Lenore and Kayla just enough to toss them off their axis. However, the more complex conflict here is the one Lenore has with her mother. While well-intentioned, Missi often comes in the way of allowing her daughter to be free from the self-imposed hatred she has for herself. Her approach of constantly diverging her intergenerational anxiety onto her where she is never able to feel good in her body is the biggest leap that Lenore has to take and Claire Ayoub is able to deal with that part of the problem with genuine grace and sensitivity.
In general, the approach that the filmmaker has to the material is also well-crafted and fun. For the most part, “Empire Waist” which is Ayoub’s feature-length debut is fun and frolic with characters that are not to be taken seriously within the context of the movie itself. The message of body positivity, friendship, and confidence is passed on in a way that doesn’t hurt, but occasionally, and especially in the key moments of the third act, the progression feels preachy and predictable, which takes away from the overall impact the film could have had. The idea of throwing queerness into the narrative also feels like a forced plot point that is never explored or grounded in any serious threads.
That said, “Empire Waist” is a welcome addition to teen comedies that know what they are trying to say. With genuine performance across the board, this uber-cute coming-of-age comedy is a good time at the movies, despite the occasional predictability and preachiness.
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