Movie: Dumplin'

With all of this extra time that I have spending at home, I put on Dumplin', a Netflix original movie and a movie adaptation of the book Dumplin' authored by Julie Murphy.  The story is about a teenage girl who was raised by her Dolly Parton loving aunt Lucy in the fictional town of Clover City, TX.   Willowdean Dixon, aka Dumplin', is a big girl in high school who is self conscious of her image.  She is seen made fun of and tries to play it off by making fun of slimmer girls and pageant participants.

Will becomes troubled when her mother, Rosie, played by Jennifer Anniston needs to make room for her beauty pageant ongoings.  Rosie is not only the pageant president, but she is the seamstress for the young girls participating.  The room in which Rosie plans to use is aunt Lucy's old room.  Will refuses to get rid of her deceased aunt's belongings and takes them into her room instead.  During this time of grieving, Will decides to make a stance agains her mother, and convinces her best friend to join her in signing up for this year's beauty pageant.   The story becomes complicated as Will watches her best friend and support allies actually become invested in the pageant.  Will believes that her mother is embarrassed of her and that Will does not reflect the image of a pageant girl.

While the pageant revolt is happening, Will is also battling with her emotions towards Bo, a handsome older teenager and her Harpy's coworker.  Will eventually finds out about Bo's feelings towards her and she becomes confused.

Will, without knowing what to do and who to talk to, she calls her friends to join her a bar in which her aunt Lucy use to frequent.  She is quickly invited in due to Will's uncanny resemblance to Lucy (and because she is related). There, Will is invited into a world were anyone can freely be themselves.  Cue in Dolly Parton "if I hadn't been a woman, I'd be a drag queen."

Will slowly begins to understand that beauty is not only external but a lot of beauty comes from within.  Yes, Will has a tough time fitting into the beauty pageant world but in the end, she puts in all of the effort to advance in the pageant, and reconcile her relationship with her best friend and mother.
I loved all of the Dolly Parton's quotes, references, and music.  Music is a big presence in the story, enough to make it a character that helps guide Will in troubled moments.

This is a wonderful story for many young girls experiencing low self esteem and body image issues.  Will was a bit tough to like at first since she was dead set on making a point that ended up hurting a few characters.  She redeemed herself at the end, making her mother proud and making the best of what she has to offer.  Her loyalty speech spoke about support and friendship, two values that teenage girls seek from friends and family.  This scene along with Millie's pageant results were my favorite scenes in the movie.

I hope you enjoy watching the movie. If you would like to check out this e-book using your San Antonio Public Library card feel free to place a hold by following this link https://mysapl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/2026030097