Dumplin' (2018)
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Willowdean Dickson (Danielle Macdonald), nicknamed "Dumplin" by her mother, Rosie (Jennifer Aniston), and "Will" by everybody else, spends much of her childhood primarily raised and taught by her Aunt Lucy (Hilliary Begley), who introduces Will to Ellen Dryver (Odeya Rush), who becomes her best friend. Lucy instills a love of Dolly Parton and self confidence in Will, but six months before Will and Ellen start their final year of high school Lucy dies. Rosie is a past beauty queen and celebrity in their small, Texan town. Will is often faced with confusion when people find out Rosie is her mother due to Will's more heavyset figure. Due to her mother's various time commitments, Will doesn't spend much time with Rosie who is dependent on Will to accompany her to various events. Will finds pageant season - a big event in their town - a ridiculous hoopla, and finds her mother's participation as pageant judge and the emphasis on beauty as overemphasized and doesn't participate in or encourage either. Rosie remains a judge on the town's annual Miss Teen Bluebonnet Pageant every year, an event girls in town start preparing for months in advance. Following Lucy's death, Rosie finds difficulty connecting with Will who is resentful and embarrassed by her mother's world... - Actors:
- Danielle Macdonald, Jennifer Aniston, Odeya Rush, Maddie Baillio, Bex Taylor-Klaus, Luke Benward, Georgie Flores, Dove Cameron, Harold Perrineau, Kathy Najimy, Joshua Allan Eads, Hilliary Begley, Sam Pancake, Dan Finnerty, Molly McNearney, Tian Richards, Ryan Dinning, Andrew Fletcher, Jason Cozmo, Brent Star
- Directors:
- Anne Fletcher
- Producers:
- Mohamed AlRafi, Michael Costigan, Kristin Hahn, Trish Hofmann
- Writers:
- Kristin Hahn, Julie Murphy
- Genres:
- Comedy, Drama, Music & Musicals
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Reviews (1) of Dumplin'
Pleasant Comedy With Good Message - Dumplin' review by GI
Even though this is a conventional comedy it has a sweet nature and is very watchable. Admittedly it could've been a lot funnier with a better script but it has a heart warming feel and an enjoyable vibe. Set in Texas the story follows Willowdean (Danielle Macdonald), a plus size teenager, bullied and ridiculed at school for being overweight but who rises above it and spends her days with her best friend. She has a warm nature but despairs of her former beauty queen mum, Rosie (Jennifer Aniston), who still obsessively organises the local beauty pageant and calls her Dumplin' meant affectionately but doesn't realise that it promotes taunts from Willowdean's fellow students. In protest at the stereotyping of women's body shapes she signs up for the pageant, much to her mum's dismay, and finds other students who don't 'fit' the image also sign up. They of course transform the event. Putting aside the issues with beauty contests as a whole this has a strong message especially for young people about body image and it's all held together by the strong character and performance of Macdonald. The soundtrack is by Dolly Parton as her songs are an inspiration for Willowdean and there's a great set piece at a club where Dolly impersonators perform and help the girls with their style. A film that does what it says on the tin and all perfectly well so well worth checking out.