Dumplin, a movie recently released by Netflix was based on the 2015 novel written by Julie Murphy. The story takes place in the fictional town of Clover City, Texas and follows 16-year-old Willowdean Dixon during her summer after sophomore year. She is determined to change the way the world sees her. I think this is one of the best movies I have seen so far in 2019 and is a big inspiration for many of those struggling with self love.

Will (Danielle Macdonald), as she is referred, is the overweight daughter of former beauty queen and current Miss Teen Blue Bonnet Pageant coordinator, Rosie Dixson (Jennifer Aniston). Mother and daughter are complete opposites. Dumplin is a nickname created from Will’s weight. This is a big obstacle for Willowdean.

I loved not only who played each character but how they portrayed them. Bo (Luke Benward) is exactly how not only the author describes him in the book but how I imagined him as well. The true teenage angst and internal development through not feeling good enough, getting mad at parents, and believing in yourself in the end. Movies based on high school experience are normally far out and unrealistic but my favorite part about this movie is that it related to actual teenage drama and experience.

Although there were many things I did like there were a few I did not. Having read the book on top of watching the movie much of the book was missing. The book adds much of the timeline between Willowdean ending school and even school starting up again but the movie ends at the end of the pageant. Taking some of the most important events out did not make the movie disappointing but adding those could have made the movie even more inspirational.

The lesson of this movie is to show that no matter body type, personality, or talent you can be a beauty queen. That how you see yourself is the only opinion that matters and you should never let anyone that you believe is better make you feel less than. It is also a lesson in acceptance where a mother must accept her daughter no matter how different she is.

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