Day 348 of the challenge! Can say without a doubt that I am not the intended target audience for Netflix’s Dumplin'.
I don’t want to call Dumplin' a bad film, but I don’t want to call it a good one either. It’s strong message about body positivity is laid on pretty thick, but it’s still an earnest and enjoyable enough story to win over most people.
My problem with Dumplin' is how soulless it is in it’s structure, like an extended episode of a crappy sitcom. The movie is so rigid, so damn formulaic, it breaks itself, and all you’re left with is a preachy and tensionless hour and 40 minutes. And I understand some people are okay with that. Some people just want a comfort movie that allows them to escape to a world that’s warmer and less cruel than ours, (again, like a crappy sitcom) and more power to them. Just not for me. At all.
If I’m honest, I’m probably too cynical to appreciate the endearing nature of the story. But what you gonna do?