Dumplin’ is based on the New York Times best selling novel of the same name by Julie Murphy and stars Jennifer Aniston and Danielle Macdonald.
The film follows the adventures of Willowdean (Macdonald) a heavyset late-teens girl who is the daughter of a local beauty queen that has an infatuation with country music legend, Dolly Parton.
Willowdean, who is nicknamed Dumplin’ by her mother, decides to sign up for her mom’s Miss Teen Bluebonnet pageant in protest, especially after finding out her late, heavyset, aunt Lucy (Hillary Begley) had filled out the application for the pageant but never entered. Now all the girls that fit the standard must step up their game against Dumplin’, Milly (Maddie Baillio) and Hannah (Bex Taylor-Klaus) who round out the misfits entering the competition.
When the protest turns more serious and the girls take the competition as something that needs to be won in order to revamp the image of Miss Teen Bluebonnet, they seek the help of some drag queens to help them punch up their routines and Dolly Parton, Dumplin’s act up.
Dumplin’ deals with a lot of teenage issues of self-image, weight, looks and whatever else teenagers face. It is a dramedy that makes you laugh and teaches you how to be accepting of yourself without bashing you over the head with a Harley Quinn size mallet of social justice nonsense.
I fell in love with Macdonald’s work when I first saw her in Patti Cake$ and was blown away as how this early-20s Australian actress pulled off New Jersey and now a Texan so exceptionally well. As image based as Hollywood is, I really hope the industry looks past her size and accept her as a phenomenal young talent that will take the industry by storm if given the right chance.
Dumplin’ drops Friday, December 7, 2018 on Netflix.
Summary
Dumplin’ is a funny flick about self-discovery and accepting ourselves in our own skin.