Review: Dumplin' (2018)

It’s somewhat sad that out of all the 2018 teen films on Netflix, Dumplin’ seems to have been ignored. We had the charming To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, the disastrous, damaging mess that was The Kissing Booth and the confused Sierra Burgess is a Loser, which were all well-promoted and talked about. Why didn’t Dumplin’ get the same treatment?

Dumplin’ is based on the book of the same name by Julie Murphy. It stars Danielle Macdonald as Willowdean “Will” Dixon, an overweight teenage girl who is nicknamed “Dumplin’” by her mother Rosie (played by Jennifer Aniston). Rosie won a beauty pageant as a teenager, and has remained largely devoted to the circuit ever since. Will doesn’t appreciate this, as she blames this for her mother’s shallow idea of beauty. Will is mostly confident in herself, thanks to her plus-sized Aunt Lucy, who sadly passed away a few months before the time period of the film. One day, Will finds an abandoned sign-up sheet for a beauty pageant filled in by a teenage Lucy, who didn't feel beautiful enough to apply for it. Will proceeds to join the pageant in protest alongside her best friend Elle (Odeya Rush). However, this inspires new friendships with other unconventional beauties, and Will begins to learn more about who she truly is. Dumplin' was directed by Anne Fletcher, the director behind The Proposal and 27 Dresses, both of which are chick flicks I like.

After watching Dumplin', I can see why it didn't quite grab the attention of Netflix viewers the way To All the Boys Before or The Kissing Booth did. Those films are designed to be fun, fluffy romances (only the former succeeded at that). Dumplin' is more of a coming of age story.

For a start, there is romance in Dumplin', but it's barely featured, and our male lead seems very bland compared to Will, who develops in character throughout this film. We don't see enough of Will and her love interest, Bo (played by Luke Benward) to want them to be together. We know barely anything about Bo, or even why he is attracted to Will. On paper, his character is a nice partner for Will, but with the running time already being longer than I think it needed to be (this film is almost two hours long) I honestly think this entire subplot could have been cut.

The film is really more about friendship, accepting yourself and Dolly Parton. If you don't like Dolly Parton, don't watch this film. Her songs make up the entire soundtrack, and in the few quiet moments of the film, characters are either talking about Dolly or dressing up as her. It feels a bit niche, particularly for a film aimed at a teenage audience. However, it is nice that these characters are so distinctly caught up in their own world.

Now let's talk about the main theme of this film: Will being a plus-size girl wanting to challenge the general idea of beauty. Sadly, being above-average weight isn't a theme that everyone can relate to (and unfortunately, isn't a subject that everyone wishes to be more understanding of). Meanwhile, being in a cute romance is something that people can either relate to, remember fondly from experience or aspire to be a part of. I think that's why the other teen chick flicks from 2018 received as much attention as they did, versus this film.

The depiction of Will and her weight is important though, so let's discuss that.

We never see Will eat in this film, and I personally like that choice. With overweight characters onscreen, we generally see them gorging themselves with food, if only to highlight that they are fat, expressing themselves to have low self esteem, or existing solely as comic relief: examples of this includes Fat Amy from the Pitch Perfect series, Yancy from Sleepover, Rose from Shallow Hal, and the titular character in Sierra Burgess is a Loser. Not only does Will avoid these stereotypes, but she is one of three positive plus-size female characters in this film. We also have Will's late aunt Lucy (Hilliary Begley) and her schoolmate Millie (portrayed by Maddie Baillio), who joins the pageant alongside Will. All three characters are unique people. Will is assertive, loyal and continually growing as a person. Millie is bubbly, sweet and conservative. Aunt Lucy had a dramatic flare in everything she did, and exerted confidence, which inspired Will. It's nice to see such diversity amongst these characters, without any of them being used as a punchline.

Additionally, no one ever tells Will to lose weight in this film, and it is never a goal of hers to become thinner. This is really refreshing to see. People only really react to Will's weight because it contrasts so much with the body type of her beauty queen mother, and people are shown to be unknowingly insensitive rather than openly fat-shaming. Will's main struggle comes from the unflattering nickname her mother calls her: "Dumplin'", but Will explains her upset with this name comes from her feeling like her mother is ashamed of her, more than the name is mocking her weight.

The side characters are all enjoyable in their own right, although I think it's a shame that the pageant girls (aside from the ones we follow) don't really have any dialogue or personality, which sticks to a stereotype in a film that otherwise aims to break the mould. It would have been nice to see a stereotypical pretty pageant type girl befriend and become a part of the group, but I suppose Elle's storyline works fairly well to hint at that. I liked Elle, and she had a great chemistry with Will - I really believed these two were lifelong friends. Unfortunately, something happens that causes Elle to be absent for a good amount of the middle part of the film, and I really wish she'd been brought back sooner than she was. I also really liked Millie, who has a lovely character arc and the drag queens in the bar Will visits were fun.

The film is set in a Texan town, so everyone has a southern north america accent. None of the accents are painfully bad, but sometimes they don't seem to be entirely natural (it was notably jarring with Jennifer Aniston, although I believe that's because her real voice is so well-known to me, as a life long Friends viewer).

Overall, Dumplin' isn't a groundbreaking film, but it is a refreshing one. Will isn't perfect, but she's aware of that, and slowly embraces the other characters around her who help her discover who she wants to be. I personally enjoyed the depiction of a young overweight female character here, which also seems to have been very well-received by plus size women. I really enjoyed the way this film handled body image as a subject matter, and the moral of self love that was naturally shared through our protagonist's development.

THE SCOREBOARD

Chick Flick Check List Elements: 1, 5, 10, 11, 16, 17, 33, 53, 54, 57, 59, 61, 64.

Total: 13

Is this really a chick flick or will men like it too? Chick flick, but anyone who appreciates Dolly Parton and drag queens may enjoy.

Would I recommend this film? Yes, if only because I think it could invite some interesting discussion on body image.

Quote of the film: “As far as I’m concerned, a swimsuit body is just a body with a swimsuit on it.” – Will

Score: 7/10