I loved star Danielle Macdonald in her break out film Patti Cake$. She has an "it" quality which is just remarkable to watch. She brings that magic here to her role as the title character but the film doesn't give her the chances she had in her previous film to truly explore the mother/daughter dynamic.
Mostly the film lets us put the pieces together. I never felt Jennifer Aniston's character was truly rounded out. She was fairly despicable in her treatment of her plus size daughter in the beginning, and never has a true redemption arc just eventually coming around to seeing how special her daughter truly is without us seeing her get there.
But that's not what this film is about. It's about "finding out who you are and doing it intentionally." The film comes alive when Dumpin seeks out guidance from a somewhat cliched group of wise of Dolly impersonating drag queens. As drag queens usually are they are delightful. They don't get to be multidimensional either. But they are damn fun. Harold Parrineau steals the show here as the mentor to the young women coming into being who they truly are. That's where Dumplin' works the best.
I will also give the film points on how Dumplin's love interest (aptly named Bo) never goes through the standard challenges of falling for a larger girl. He just knows he likes her and pursues her and I found that refreshing.
But even more than all that, the film works best when Dolly is singing. Her original songs for the film are beautiful and the mix of her classics gives the film exactly the vibe it needs to be a what it wants to be, intentionally.
Dumplin'
Starring: Danielle Macdonald, Jennifer Aniston, Luke Benward, Odwya Rush, Dove Cameron, Harold Parrineau, Maddie Baillio, Kathy Najimi
Director: Anne Fletcher
Writer: Kristin Hahn
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