Show Notes

Book vs. Movie – Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy

Dumplin’, by Julie Murphy, is laugh-out-loud-funny and tears-slipping-down-your-face-unexpectedly-sad. The story of how Willowdean “Dumplin’” Dickerson enters the famous Clover City beauty pageant, along with 3 other unlikely candidates is poignant, thought-provoking, and stand-up-and-cheer good.

It is a beautifully written exploration of how hard it is to figure out who you are, especially when you don’t feel like you fit in with what’s “normal.” And isn’t that all of us?

And while the book is always, always better, Netflix did a great job with adapting it to the small screen.

Differences

There are some missing characters in the movie (Mitch, Amanda) and some of the characters are not as well developed in the movie as in the book (Ellen, Bo, Hannah, Tim).

Because Mitch is missing, the whole plotline involving Willowdean’s relationship with him is absent from the movie.

In the book, Willowdean loves Ellen’s boyfriend, Tim, and thinks he’s perfect for her best friend. In the movie, his character is kind of jerky, and seems to be combined with Patrick Thomas’ from the book.

The movie has a feel-good, reconciliation moment between Willowdean and her mom that the book never really embraced. I actually liked it, but the book was more realistic.

The rift between Willowdean and Ellen was based mostly on their disagreement about the pageant in the movie. In the book, it was much more complex, and a big component was Ellen’s decision to have sex with her boyfriend Tim.

Issues 

• Body Image
• Friendship
• Parent-Teen Relationships
• Dating
• Grief
• Identity

Questions to Talk About with Your Teen

• What is beautiful?
• What does it look like when your friends are a few steps ahead of you in growing up?
• Why are mothers and daughters so often polar opposites – and how can they bridge the gap?
• What does it look like to fully embrace every part of who you are – not just physically, but each step along the way as you are becoming the person you want to be?
• How many things do we miss because we think we don’t “deserve” them?
• Is there a “right” way to grieve?
• What’s the best way to “find out who you are and do it on purpose”? What makes it hard to do that?