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Box office-busting filmmaker Anne Fletcher is back behind the camera for another feel-good comedy about two very different people coming together, but The Proposal director isn’t returning to her rom-com roots, instead she’s looking to spread a little love on mother-daughter relationships. In Dumplin’, Fletcher is going decidedly country to tell the story of obsessive former beauty queen Rosie (Jennifer Aniston) and her rebellious teen daughter Willowdean (aka Dumplin’, played by Patti Cake$ breakout Danielle Macdonald).
While Rosie’s days of winning pageants are long gone, her entire identity remains wrapped up in her glory years as a teen beauty queen, and that puts her at odds with Willowdean, who has never given much of a thought to the pageant scene. Per the film’s official synopsis, the story follows “the plus-size, teenage daughter of a former beauty queen, who signs up for her mom’s pageant as a protest that escalates when other contestants follow her footsteps, revolutionizing the pageant and their small Texas town.”
Willowdean’s choice to take on the pageant also means she’s taking on everything her mom holds near and dear, but it also serves as something of a revolutionary call to the rest of the gals in town who never even considered that they could be beauty pageant material. Bolstered by a Dolly Parton-heavy soundtrack (Willowdean is a big, big fan), Dumplin’ seems poised to become Netflix’s next big lady-centric hit (fans of Noah Centenio, keep an eye on Luke Benward, who appears as Willowdean’s very sweet love interest).
Also worth keeping an eye on: a script written by Kirstin Hahn, who will next adapt another bestselling hit, the YA charmer Stargirl, for the big screen.
Netflix will release the film in select theaters and via its streaming platform on December 7. Check out the first trailer for Dumplin’ above.
