Dumplin' (film)
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''Dumplin is a 2018 American
coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...
comedy drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...
film directed by
Anne Fletcher Anne Fletcher (born May 1, 1966) is an American choreographer, film director, dancer and actress. She directed the films '' Step Up'' (2006), ''27 Dresses'' (2008), '' The Proposal'' (2009), '' The Guilt Trip'' (2012), ''Hot Pursuit'' (2015), '' D ...
and written by Kristin Hahn. It is based on the 2015 novel by Julie Murphy. The film stars Danielle Macdonald as Willowdean "Dumplin'" Dickson,
Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress. She rose to international fame for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom ''Friends'' from 1994 to 2004, which earned her Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe, and Scr ...
as her mother, Rosie Dickson, and Odeya Rush as her best friend, Ellen Driver.


Plot

Willowdean Dickson grows up in a small
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
town, raised primarily by her Aunt Lucy. Her mother Rosie – who calls her "Dumplin’", much to Will’s chagrin – is a former
beauty queen A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes so ...
, too committed to various pageants to spend time with her daughter, and remains the planner of the town's annual Miss Teen Bluebonnet Pageant. Lucy introduces Will to Ellen Driver, who becomes her best friend. Six months before they start their final year of high school, Lucy dies. Rosie finds difficulty connecting with Will, who often feels judged about her weight and is embarrassed by her mother's pageant world. On the first day of school, as Will is being dropped off by Rosie, everyone hears Rosie call her Dumplin, which results in being made fun of by students. Will is suspended for defending another overweight girl, Millie Mitchellchuck, from a bully. Will accuses Rosie of resenting her for her looks, and is upset when Rosie states Lucy should have taken better care of her health. After finding Lucy's application for the Miss Teen Bluebonnet Pageant when she was 16, Will enters the pageant as an act of "protest in heels". Ellen signs up as well, along with the enthusiastic Millie and their classmate Hannah Perez, an edgy feminist. Rosie interprets Will's application as a mockery of the pageant, and warns her that pageants are harder than she thinks. Will becomes jealous when Ellen warms to the pageant and the other contestants, and they quarrel after she tells her to quit. Bo, who works with Will at the local diner, asks her out to watch a meteor shower. They kiss, but she panics when he innocently touches her back, and leaves abruptly. She feels further alienated when Rosie mentors Bekah Colter, the pageant frontrunner, who plans to ask Bo to the Sadie Hawkins dance. After finding a flyer for a bar’s Dolly Parton-themed
drag show A drag show is a form of entertainment performed by drag (entertainment), drag artists impersonating men or women, typically in a bar or nightclub as a burlesque-style, adult-themed nightclub event. The modern drag show originated in the speake ...
Lucy frequented, Will takes Millie and Hannah to it. There she meets
drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses Drag (entertainment), drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate Femininity, female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have ...
Lee Wayne, who was a close friend of Lucy’s. During the pageant talent tryouts, Will's choice to perform a magic trick goes poorly. Bo confesses his feelings for Will, having declined to go with Bekah to the dance, but she is quick to question his attraction; hurt, he accuses her of caring too much about what others think. Grappling with her insecurities, Will is finally able to revisit the childhood playroom she shared with Ellen and Lucy. Rediscovering a special brooch among Lucy’s belongings, Will is inspired to take the pageant seriously, and she, Millie, and Hannah are coached by Lee and friends. At the preliminary pageant event, Rosie is impressed by Will's speech about loyalty, which leads Will and Ellen to repair their friendship. At home, Rosie and Will reconcile over memories of Lucy, and Rosie regrets asking Will to donate Lucy’s things, having given “too much of her away”. At the pageant, Millie is confronted by her mother for lying about entering the competition, but Millie stands firm. Will incorporates a Dolly Parton tribute into her magic act, to the joy of the audience and her mother; Millie’s performance is also a success. While Rosie is overwhelmed with pride, Will admits she is disqualified for unapproved changes to her costume and song and knows her mom can't make an exception for her daughter. When Ellen's boyfriend is unable to escort her for the formalwear presentation, Rosie suggests Will does so, allowing them to complete the pageant together. Bekah wins the pageant as expected, but Millie is awarded first runner-up, while Will leaves to reconcile with Bo, and they share another kiss. The movie ends as Will and her friends take Rosie and Millie's mother to the bar where Aunt Lucy brought so much joy.


Cast

''Dumplin author Julie Murphy makes a cameo as a patron at the drag bar.


Production

On March 15, 2017,
Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress. She rose to international fame for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom ''Friends'' from 1994 to 2004, which earned her Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe, and Scr ...
was announced in the cast of ''Dumplin'', playing Rosie Dickson, the mother of Dumplin'. On June 13, 2017 Danielle Macdonald joined Aniston, in the lead role. On August 15, 2017, Odeya Rush was also cast in the film to play Ellen "El" Dryver, Willowdean's best friend, who creates difficulties when she tries to enter the beauty pageant along with Will. On August 21, 2017, Dove Cameron,
Luke Benward Luke Aaron Benward (born May 12, 1995) is an American actor and singer. He is most known for his Disney Channel roles as Charlie in ''Minutemen'' (2008), Ryan in '' Girl vs. Monster'' (2012), and Will in '' Cloud 9'' (2014). He played the role ...
,
Bex Taylor-Klaus Rebecca Edison "Bex" Taylor-Klaus (born August 12, 1994) is an American actor. They rose to fame for their starring role as Bullet on the crime drama series '' The Killing'' (2013). They gained further prominence with roles as Sin on the super ...
, Maddie Baillio, Georgie Flores, and Ginger Minj joined the cast of ''Dumplin.
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
on the film began on August 21, 2017, in
Covington, Georgia Covington is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia and the seat of Newton County, and is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, its population was 14,192. History Covington was founded by European immigrants to the Unite ...
and ended in October.


Release

In September 2018,
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
acquired distribution rights to the film. ''Dumplin was released on December 7, 2018 on the platform.


Reception

On the
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, ''Dumplin'' holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "Elevated by a solid soundtrack and a terrific cast, ''Dumplin'' offers sweetly uplifting drama that adds just enough new ingredients to a reliably comforting formula." On
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 53 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.


Accolades


Soundtrack

The soundtrack, released on November 30, 2018, features songs either written or recorded by country star
Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...
. Parton performs on every song on the album and wrote six of the 12 tracks exclusively for the film, with the remaining six being re-recordings of some of Parton's earlier hits, including a string version of " Jolene". Joining Parton on the soundtrack are
Elle King Tanner Elle Schneider (born July 3, 1989), known professionally as Elle King, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her musical style is influenced by Country music, country, Rock music, rock, and blues. She signed with RCA Records to ...
,
Miranda Lambert Miranda Leigh Lambert (born November 10, 1983) is an American country music, country singer. Born in Longview, Texas, she started out in early 2001 when she released her self-titled debut album independently. In 2003, she finished in third place ...
,
Mavis Staples Mavis Staples (born July 10, 1939) is an American rhythm and blues and gospel music, gospel singer and civil rights activism, activist. She rose to fame as a member of her family's band The Staple Singers, of which she is the last surviving memb ...
,
Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer, fiddler and music producer. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of eight and recording for the first time at ...
,
Rhonda Vincent Rhonda Lea Vincent (born July 13, 1962) is an American Bluegrass music, bluegrass singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Vincent's music career began when she was a child in her family's band The Sally Mountain Show, and it has spanne ...
, Sia,
Macy Gray Natalie Renée McIntyre (born September 6, 1967), known professionally as Macy Gray, is an American contemporary R&B, R&B and soul music, soul singer and actress. She is known for her distinctive raspy voice and a singing style heavily influence ...
, Willa Amai and the film's stars Aniston and Macdonald.


References


External links

* {{Anne Fletcher 2010s feminist films 2010s female buddy films 2010s musical comedy films 2010s coming-of-age comedy films Echo Films films American female buddy films American musical comedy films Drag (entertainment)-related films Films directed by Anne Fletcher Films set in Texas Films shot in Georgia (U.S. state) English-language musical comedy films Netflix original films Films about beauty pageants Films based on young adult literature 2018 comedy films Films scored by Jake Monaco 2010s English-language films 2010s American films English-language buddy films 2018 musical films