User reviews

"Find out who you are and do it on purpose" - Dolly Parton

Damn, Julie Murphy. You wrote every fat girls story. I knew this going into the movie tonight, this cold December night I tucked myself into bed with a box of tissues, some pizza, and my cat. I was prepared. Ready to experience one of my favorite books on the "big screen", not to mention all the Dolly and Jennifer Aniston my heart desired. Well, Julie, I cried the entire time, mission accomplished, job well done. The movie is as bright, delicious, and strong as the book, with a little extra sparkle and zhuzh.

I hope everyone out there takes a minute to think about the fat girl inside of yourself, whatever that means, and think about fondly wishing her luck on her mission to finding out who she is on purpose.

Is this movie very original? Not at all. It follows the common formula of such self confidence movies. But it is lovely executed and I ended up enjoying every minute of it. It is very charming and positive. Positive not just in the main message (love yourself and be who you want to be) but also in the execution and how nice the characters are. Nobody is hateful and negative to others (except for that guy in the beginning who got what he deserved). There are no nasty jury who need to be proven something, no nasty contestants trying to sabotage you, actually no mean mothers. The only person one needs to prove something to is oneself. The rest of the women and girls are very nice to each other, which is so wonderful. And this is something that was kind of special in this movie.

Actors were also great. Jennifer Aniston is great at performing a loving mother who maybe has some misunderstandings with her daughter yet wants to do the best for her. Harold Perrineau is amazing. When I saw him first I had trouble to figure out who it is even though the face looked familiar. He is a great actor who is very different in every role I saw him.

So if you want to see some very deep award receiving movie, this is probably not the one for you. But if you want an entertaining and positive movie that will make you feel good about life than this is a good choice.

7/10 - body positive YA book adaption lives up to the hype

The movie is a good, heartlifting movie with good music and enjoyable characters. Unfortunately it leaves out a lot of major characters and a lot of the book plot. If you haven't read the book you will like it even more, irregardless it is worth the watch.

Dolly Parton's wonderful songs (and her distinct voice) are the highlight of this film. That said, "Dumplin'" film feels like a low-risk, tv special, played at 8 pm. The script is overly-sentimental, and while the themes are worthy, the delivery felt flat.

Several characters who deserved to be fleshed out got the short-shrift. I'd like to see a more layered narrative of the lives of drag queens, apart from their entertainment value, but this film missed the mark. Even "Bo", the teenage hunk was reduced to a cardboard figure, imbued with cliched sound bites. Kathy Najimy (a fine actor) was given a perfunctory role, filled with animated actions.

If you want to see Aniston deliver a riveting portrayal, see the film "CAKE". Sadly, she is not believable in this role. Although "Patti Cake$ was not a great film, I enjoyed the performance of MacDonald more in that project. While "Dumplin" was not altogether terrible (most of the actors gave it their best), the script is in sore need of refinement and enriched characterizations.

Let me start out by saying this film is definitely not my typical area of interest. A movie about someone trying to upend the routine of a yearly beauty pageant in order to prove a point to her judging mother, is not something I would usually check out. However, with Jennifer Aniston involvement as the aforementioned Mother, I felt it might be worth giving a shot. Luckily, the film makes every attempt to divert expectations and avoid cliches, but it forgets how to right a lead character that can be someone you care about. She's every bit as judging and critical as her mom is but to other people. Of course, that's the arc 'Dumplin' goes through as she navigates her own sort of coming of age story. It has sweet intentions, is executed well enough to be watched but perhaps not well enough to be acclaimed.

6.5/10

Dumplin' was actually good. The story is touching and the performances spot on. The overall result was entertaining and the soundtrack just perfect.

Dumplin' was sweet and powerful and uplifting and intimate all at once. The acting was fantastic (especially Jen Aniston (who I haven't seen this good in a long time), Danielle Macdonald, and Maddie Baillio), the message was inspiring, and the music really topped it all off. It was however relatively predictable, and the script was a little stuffy and artificial, but other than that I loved it. Overall, just a really fun movie to watch, would definitely reccomend!

It's hard to dislike the movie with the message they're delivering. However, it felt like a worse Hairspray. You can't miss the message in this movie as the writers stuffed it down your throat as much as they possible could however they weren't creative in their delivery and had the actors force it into dialogue in a played out way. But like I said it's heartwarming nonetheless in your typical feel good predictable kind of way.

Generic and every "deep" moment seems so superficial and unearned.

Really surprised at how much I enjoyed this film. Most Netflix movies are cheesy and predictable, but this one is truly heartwarming. The story is great and the dialogue feels natural. Dolly Partons songs are a real highlight as well, and the message is delivered organically in stead of being shoved down your throat. I would recommend this for a nice Friday film night.

I was surprised by the fresh humor, finally a new take on Beauty pageants! Beautifully done, funny and loving the Dolly theme. Away with magazines telling us what is beautiful and not!! 👌

There was such hype about this movie and I love both Jennifer Aniston and Dolly Parton but I was so let down. The dialogue was very bland. I expected the story to be predictable but was hoping the actor's lines would inject life into it but sadly it didn't. Frankly the best part of the movie was Dolly Parton's music and little else.

A movie about a girl living in self pity, who always blames everything on being fat and blames everyone for not understanding that. Heart warming and sweet at the right moments, plus Jen and Dolly. 6 or 7 at best.

I've watched this more than once now. The first time I loved it,but my second time I find myself frustrated with parts of the story. I don't find Willowdean as likeable or as pretty as Millie the other big girl in the story and would find it more believable if Bo liked Millie. It is nice that the skinny girls are not mean to her in the pageant and for once that type of girl is not portrayed as mean. The message of accepting yourself is shoved down your throat as much as possible which is a bit unnecessary.

It's not often you can find a family friendly movie without constant cuss words and in your face sex scenes anymore. Although not entirely believable (but then again, what in Hollywood is...), it is definitely a sweet, charming movie worth a watch.

Full disclosure, I have not read the book so I saw the movie with virgin eyes and zero expectations. If you're looking for a deep, insightful comedy drama with a bunch of existential messages this is not the movie for you. If you're looking for warm and fuzzy feelings mixed with some sass and charm I recommend this movie. My belly didn't ache from laughing, but my mouth did hurt from smiling so much. If you watch enough movies and TV they all become predictable, but that doesn't have to take away from your enjoyment or the message of self love that this movie leans on. So found a comfy spot on the couch, grab some tea, and let the positive vibes flow.

Brilliantly adapted by Kristen Hahn and directed by Anne Fletcher, "Dumplin'" will inspire any woman of any age to love who they are. The movie it is open to the idea that beauty itself is more expansive and subjective and has nailed the idea of self-love better than we've seen on-screen before. The truth is that it doesn't completely avoid some common pitfalls of a book-to-screen adaptation, but it is a fun movie about female friendship and self-acceptance. Will mean a lot to a lot of young women who struggle to see themselves in TV and movies, and this feel-good comedy reminds them that they're beautiful just the way they are..."Dumplin'" is a film well worth your time. Just make sure you have tissues. nikisreviews.gr

Is the movie an Oscar contender? No, but who cares. The movie has a great message and it's fun. I enjoyed the movie from beginning to end. All you naysayers and haters, get some joy in your life and be entertained without tearing down. It's a movie for teens to learn the value of understanding who you are and living your best you. Something us 40 somethings need to be remind of too!

Generally: Amusing Plot: Messed-up family, daughter tries to get mom's attention Best thing: Tries to make a point and send a message (not very well) Worst thing: Way way way toooo much Dolly Parton

Apparently Netflix started doing not just series, but also single movies. I got confused at first, thought it would be a pilot episode of a new show, but not. Spent time watching it. Generally it is very amusing, you won't feel disappointed if you spend the time. Bad thing is, it implements damn way too much of Dolly Parton. Don't get me wrong, country music fan here too, but the use of Dolly's name is way too much. Using Dolly's music is completely fine for me.

The movie tries to make a point and send the message that every body is okay (the main character is overweight). However this part of the movie is a bit weak and messes up with the main point of the story - the entire story actually goes around the main character, trying to get her mom's attention and respect. That's it, no more or less. How she tries to send the message is not well done.

Acting is okay, no comments here. But the path to the glam is not well shown, maybe because at first the nerd girls club tries to sabotage the beauty contest, before later they decide to actually do it.

What would have been done better: (1) Showing more funny moments of how the girls prepare for the contest, more floppy walking on heels, makeup-drama, trying more clothes etc. (2) Since the actual story is the main character trying to win her mom's attention and respect, I would like to see more of her inner drama and her efforts revealed.

The acting in this film is very flat. The lead actress does not have any of the charm to carry this picture and her lines are often underplayed - even her singing to Dolly Parton scenes seem languid instead of joyous. Jennifer Aniston does her best in a role against type and Dolly Parton's music is always a delight but ultimately both the director and writer, and especially their choice of the lead actress fails miserably. Bad.

Not the best film.

Don't get me wrong the message and moral of the story is pretty heartwarming and relevant but unfortunately that's the extent of this film. The idea is extremely generic, very predictable and gets boring quickly. I'm not a big fan of these sort of warm touchy films but even for people who enjoy this genre won't be a major fan of Dumplin. The movies acting is rather poor. The script and story is so bland and plain so much so that you can guess what will happen next. However some moments in the film are better than others but most of them are an average standard. Overall not the most enjoyable film.