Brittany Runs a Marathon

Audiences who've seen a few female-focused "nottie to hottie" movies could be forgiven for thinking this gorgeous, affecting movie might be similarly shallow and misogynistic -- but they'd be wrong. Brittany is a delight from the moment she shows up on screen, with every one of her mercurial emotions visible on her face as we watch her navigating her not-good-enough life: the nothing job she doesn't work hard at, her toxic relationship with her best friend, the men who don't notice her unless they want something from her. In an early scene, Brittany finally gets some attention from a foxy guy at a club who slurs "You're fine" before asking her to join him in the bathroom and offering her a stack of bar napkins: "You can rest your knees on these," he says.

But soon enough, she's lacing up her sneakers and heading out, determined to make at least some changes in her life. Mild spoiler alert: It works. But while having a woman beat a path to betterness through outward physical transformation is truly a cinematic cliche -- witness the many makeovers in movies from Cinderella to Grease to Now, Voyager -- in Brittany's case, it feels both more authentic and deeper. Her physical changes aren't the be-all and end-all of her story. Instead, her metamorphosis comes more from committing to something and finding that she has the inner strength to stick with it than from looking conventionally cuter. And her most lasting changes come not from a smaller dress size but instead from the changed relationships she has with her family and friends. In short, this is no mere makeover movie. It's nothing less than a hero's journey, with a hero you'll want to cheer on.