About the only redeeming characteristics are that Jeff Bridges' character realizes that he has been a schmuck, and Lauren Bacall's character realized how hurtful the cumulative effect of words can be. Otherwise, I found myself becoming annoyed at the overall message.
First off, why must a woman re-make herself totally in order to be seen as sexually attractive? Rose looked far better at the start of the movie than she did at the end. Secondly, What was wrong with the way "Rose" looked at the start of the movie? Totally comfortable, quirky, and sensible. And the idea that a size eight is considered "fat" .... well, I just rolled at that one.
Rose does repudiate sheer looks by the end of the film, but the moment is almost too tiny to be noticed. The bulk of the film shows a woman thinking she's ugly, when she is far from it (but that's a Streisand trope: Babs, you have a big nose, and who cares? You look fine and very attractive), and thinking that comfortable clothes mean frumpiness. It encourages the over-awareness of body--since when has a size eight been "too fat"?????? Basically, Rose's re-awakening to the importance of mind and self, not external standards of beauty, is too little to compensate for all the rest of the film.
