Unless you've been living under a rock these past few months, you probably know the slew of Netflix Originals that have taken the internet by storm: "The Kissing Booth," "To All The Boys I've Loved Before," "Sierra Burgess Is A Loser" and "Dumplin'."
The first two came in a whirlwind, making us fall in love with Noah Flynn and Peter Kavinsky. Then when we heard 'Sierra Burgess' was coming out with Noah Centineo (Peter Kavinsky) and what it was about, we were all excited. A movie about a bigger girl who finally gets the guy? Heck yeah.
Now, I don't want to speak for everybody, but I think I can speak on everyone's behalf when I say this: Sierra Burgess was a giant flop.
Everything it tried to be and tried to showcase and bring attention to completely backfired. Rather than Sierra accepting who she was and finding her own worth and getting the guy, she let her insecurities turn her deceitful and rude. Yet somehow, she got the guy, even when she stabbed him in the back and totally did not deserve him.
Now, four months later, we got a similar type of movie. A bigger girl, getting the hot guy (Ahem, Luke Benward anyone??) and showing her mom up in a beauty pageant — yes, please.
Plus, throw Dolly Parton into the mix and I think we've got a winner on our hands.
I was so happy with Dumplin'. I have watched it at least four times and each time I have loved it more and more. What it stands for — being confident in ourselves — is so important. The fact that it focused on being happy with who we are regardless of what others think about us was crucial.
It tying back that her relationship with her mom finally grew and took roots, rather than being one that really did not exist was also a good part in the movie. We all saw the growth in their relationship and saw the development they had.
I think it was also important that the movie focused more on her friendships, her development with herself and her accepting the grief she felt about her aunt, rather than her relationship with a boy. (Don't worry though, we had plenty of WillBo!) Sometimes movies like that can revolve solely around the relationship between a girl and a guy, rather than her development.
Dumplin', however, focused on both.
We saw WillowDean's personal growth and how she dealt with other aspects of her life without obsessing over her love interest. In fact, besides the scenes he was in, Bo really was not mentioned all that much. She had more important things to worry about, like her aunt's death and the pageant.
Finally, about Bo and WillowDean, we got a genuine relationship between a hot guy and a bigger (and still beautiful) girl. It wasn't a crush that seemed to just develop during the movie, either. Bo seemed to have an interest in WillowDean the entire movie. He liked her at the beginning, asked her out shyly and then took his chance to kiss her.
Then, he finally said it point-blank that he liked her and that he thought she was beautiful (swoon!). He liked her for who she was and he who knew from work, rather than just how she looked or something he saw develop during the movie.
Overall, I think this movie was crucial for today's age. It has such a good message and did everything right. Everything that 'Sierra Burgess' tried to be, 'Dumplin' did ten times better. It exceeded my expectations (and threw Jennifer Aniston into the mix!).
I think every girl, boy and parent should watch this movie — it is not just a chick flick.
I believe it's a movie that is important to all types of people. It is everything I didn't know I needed in a movie and I am so happy with the outcome. Thank you, Julie Murphy, for this incredible book. And thank you, Netflix, for making it into this wonderful movie!