Synopsis
To prove a point about measuring up and fitting in, Texas teen Willowdean “Dumplin’” Dickson enters a local pageant run by her ex-beauty queen mom.
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Cast
- Danielle MacdonaldWillowdean Dickson
- Jennifer AnistonRosie Dickson
- Odeya RushEllen Dryver
- Bex Taylor-KlausHannah Perez
- Maddie BaillioMillie Michalchuk
- Harold PerrineauLee Wayne / Rhea Ranged
- Luke BenwardBo Larson
- Georgie FloresCallie Reyes
- Dove CameronBekah Cotter
- Kathy NajimyMrs. Michalchuk
Recommendations
- 88
RogerEbert.com
There’s a makeover montage in Dumplin’, and it’s a lulu. It is overseen by drag queens who specialize in doing Dolly Parton, and it doesn’t get any more extra than that. Like so much in this film, this makeover comes with a refreshingly smart, funny, wise, and warmhearted twist. - 75
IndieWire
Lessons about loving oneself, accepting one’s faults, and being the best version of yourself are cheesy, but not without purpose. Call it cinematic comfort food, but Dumplin' knows how to satisfy. - 75
Chicago Sun-Times
Dumplin’ sometimes takes the easy road.... But there’s so much more to enjoy, from the nuanced work by Jennifer Aniston that ensures Rosie’s never a caricature of a pageant mom; to the warm and natural best-buddy chemistry between Danielle MacDonald and Odeya Rush; to that instant classic of a soundtrack courtesy of Ms. Parton, with a little help from her friends. - 55
TheWrap
A big heart and strong cast go a long way towards elevating its prosaic approach. - 50
Slant Magazine
As it proceeds through a series of teary reconciliations in the last half-hour of its 110-minute run time, the film's didactic drama begins to grate, its treacly emotions feeling increasingly unearned. - 50
The New York Times
Kristin Hahn’s script gives Will sassy lines and too many tears, but the filmmakers never give this character a real, searching, complex inner life. They give her problems to solve, hurdles to clear. They turn emotional complexity into affirmations and a potentially transformational character into a you-go-girl cliché. - 50
Los Angeles Times
For all the ways Dumplin’ does its best to avoid some clichés (no mean-girl antagonists) while embracing others (drag queens as coaches), it’s still a regrettably undercooked meal, even with those songs and the breezy magnetism of “Patti Cakes” star Macdonald. - 40
The Guardian
Too often the film loudly announces its noble intentions with slogans instead of dialogue.
