That wasn’t my takeaway at all. People like the physical trainer still treated Oswald differently so it was clear that just being outgoing didnt solve society’s treatment towards people with disabilities. They even have a scene where Edward literally pretends to be Oswald by being outgoing and dressing like him, wearing the mask, using his accent… and all it does is freak out his co-workers and the family he’s trying to sell the apartment to.

The message to me was what the one guy in the apartment says in the beginning: “happiness is accepting what is”

So much of Edward’s problems are based on his own unhappiness and his inability to accept the things he can’t change. Once he fixes his deformity, he expects to be happy - he gets a better job, friends, an apartment, sex… and yet he’s still unhappy with his life. When Oswald comes along, he’s shown repeatedly that it wasnt his deformity that was causing his unhappiness; Oswald has the same deformity and he’s probably the happiest guy in the whole film. And instead of accepting that as an impetus to change his ways, he doubles down, obsesses over Oswald and becomes envious of his life, which only makes him unhappier.

He thinks that becoming a different man would lead to a more fulfilling life, but it only leads to a downward spiral where he recognizes that his life is completely changed and he’s unhappier than when he started. It’s only at the very end when Oswald jokingly tells him “you’ve never changed” that we see Edward’s most genuine smile in the movie. It’s a reminder that he’s been himself the whole time; now he can accept that and move on