Based on the young adult novel by Julie Murphy, Dumplin’ is a Netflix film adaptation released on December 7th that follows the story of a pageant queen mother and her plus-size teenage daughter.

Rosie Dickson, played by Jennifer Aniston, is a mother and a pageant queen. She was named Miss Bluebonnet many years prior to the story and has since been hosting the event. She has a daughter named Willowdean Dickson (Danielle Macdonald), called “Will” by her friends and “Dumplin'” by her mother, who enters the competition. She is a plus-size girl, and her journey through pageant preparation is difficult due to the lack of support from her mother. Her main obstacle to overcome is the fact that her mother is not proud of her and does not look at her the same way she looks at the other contestants.

Willowdean enters the pageant to show that no girl is too big or too skinny to look beautiful. She has the support of her lifelong friends and the memory of her aunt to help her realize her own beauty.

“It’s a movie about, you know, learning to love yourself and girlfriends… It’s a love story mainly with, it’s a love story between a mom and a daughter, between friends, and mainly actually it’s a love story about Willowdean learning to really just love herself and redefining what beauty is,” said Jennifer Aniston.

The film has blown up over the past few days and people on social media cannot stop talking about it. Many said that it is empowering to see a movie that does not try to change the main character’s image, but instead shows her journey through self-acceptance and feeling comfortable in her own body.

The movie has done very well within just a week of release. Many fans can relate to the protagonist and love to see a movie that changes that way women are viewed in the pageant community and beyond. “I think that it’s great to see a movie with emotion and see how it challenges the standards that society has put forth to women,” said senior Francesca Zampella.