A complete wave of happiness took over me as I bolted from a second viewing of BOB TREVINO LIKES IT all the way down to the SIFF Cinema Downtown to see the premiere screening of the wonderful indie comedy EMPIRE WAIST at the Seattle Film Festival. The movie has an additional screening on Saturday, so don’t miss it!
Program Notes: It’s rare that a debut feature hits with so much laughter and heartbreaking relatability as Claire Ayoub’s Empire Waist. Inspired by her personal essay “Notes to My Twelve-Year-Old Self,” Empire Waist centers on Lenore (Mia Kaplan), a highschooler deeply insecure about her weight and desperate to make herself smaller wherever she goes. After a friendship blooms between her and Kayla (Jemima Yevu), an extroverted and confident fellow plus-size teen, Lenore begins stepping outside of her shell and embracing who she really is. Despite warnings from her mother (Missi Pyle, Galaxy Quest)—a diet-obsessed woman struggling with her own insecurities—and cruel bullying by the popular crowd at school, Lenore makes a group of friends who are all dealing with their own obstacles, and with them enters a fashion design contest. With the support of her new friends, her father (walking dad-joke Rainn Wilson, “The Office”) and her teacher (Jolene Purdy, “Orange is the New Black”), Lenore proves that loving yourself is a radical act. Empire Waist’s diverse young cast, spearheaded by newcomers Kaplan and Yevu, bring sparkling chemistry and hard-hitting authenticity to their roles. With hallway struts that rival your favorite ’90s teen movies, colorful photoshoot montages, and laugh-out-loud dialogue, Empire Waist is more than just another high school flick; it’s a joyful journey for anyone who’s ever struggled to love themselves. (Credit: Emalie Soderback)
My Reaction: What a total charmer this movie is! This is the teen comedy that the recent MEAN GIRLS remake wish it could have been. That over-produced, oddball of a musical adaptation feels like a total mess in comparison to this fresh, exciting and wonderfully funny indie comedy led by two outstanding performances by Mia Kaplan and Jemima Yevu, both of whom totally moved me to happy tears at the end. Mia Kaplan’s Lenore is so fully three dimensional as she tries her best to create a plus-sized fashion line and the connection she makes with the wonderfully expressive Kayla (Yeyu) dares you to judge her by her size.
The movie is less about the idea of making plus sized fashion and more about being yourselves in a world that’s always trying to change you, but it helps that her fashion is interesting too and the movie also handles that with complete realism. I also loved how the movie admires talent and trying and learning how to push forward and especially how Mia KNOWS she has something good here. As a victim of bullying in these years, I was very inspired in how they stood up to the “Mean Girls” in EMPIRE WAIST, and it’s also a huge credit to filmmaker Claire Ayoub who has so much passion on screen. Mention must also be given to Jolene Purdy as Mia’s supportive teacher (who has some of the biggest laugh out loud moments) but the always welcome-to-see Missi Pyle and Rainn Wilson who are also terrific as Mia’s parents. The whole result is a teen comedy that feels and plays real, but also exists really well in the tech movie genre which I feel has fallen by the wayside as of late. EMPIRE WAIST will connect deeply with all younger people who are struggling to stand out. This is one of my top discoveries of SIFF and it has distribution with Blue Fox, so I really hope to see it find audiences of all ages and backgrounds down the road. Hooray!
