Dumplin

Each girl competing in the Miss Teen Blue Bonnet Pageant gets the Friday before the pageant off from school. Because of Hannah’s visit, Willowdean decides to remain in the competition. Since she can’t wear the dress her mother bought her, Will chooses a black dress with sequins that she finds in a pile of Aunt Lucy’s clothes to wear. On the way to the auditorium on the morning of the pageant rehearsal, Mrs. Dixon tells Willowdean that she loves Will. She also tells her that she hopes Will makes her mother proud.

The girls get served a barbeque lunch, and afterward, Willowdean finds Ellen trying to wipe barbeque sauce off the lapel of her blazer. Willowdean tells Ellen that the stain is not a big deal. Ellen doesn’t answer her. Will finally tells Ellen that she doesn’t want them to be in a fight anymore. Will admits that she was wrong about Ellen not entering the pageant. Ellen tells Willowdean that it isn’t that easy because they’ve turned into different people, but Will replies that just because they are different doesn’t mean they are not good for each other.

When the girls find their assigned dressing rooms, Willowdean finds that her mother has written “Dumplin’” where Willowdean’s name should be. Ellen sees the label and replaces it with a label that just has Willowdean’s name without the nickname. The girls apologize to each other, and they both admit that they are scared that they are drifting apart from one another. When they catch up, Will tells Ellen about Bo. Ellen and Tim end up driving Willowdean home that afternoon only to find Bo outside of Willowdean’s house. Bo fixed Willowdean’s front door, which had been broken since before Lucy died.

Everyone is nervous during the pageant rehearsal. No one knows the dance number. Ellen asks Willowdean about her talent, and when Will says she has no choice but to do the magic tricks, Ellen has another idea. Meanwhile, Millie’s parents show up in the auditorium. It turns out that Hannah had lied to Willowdean and that Millie’s parents still had no idea that she was competing in the contest. Willowdean helps convince Millie’s mother to agree to let Millie compete.

Later that night, Willowdean realizes that she had no idea what she was going to do for the opening number of the pageant. Each girl has been assigned a Texan landmark to spotlight. Will tells her mother this, and her mother helps create a prop to use. Willowdean’s mother says: “Dumplin’ you’re going to have the best damn prop in the opening number” (351). Willowdean and her mother bond while making the prop and drinking champagne.

On the day of the pageant, Tim has food poisoning and can’t be Ellen’s escort. Since Willowdean doesn’t have an escort either, Ellen and Will decide to be each other’s escorts. During the swimsuit contest, Willowdean knows that Ellen is secretly nervous, even though she is graceful and confident on stage. For a moment, Willowdean doesn’t want to go out in front of the audience in her bathing suit. She regains her confidence, walks down the stage, and realizes that no one in the audience treated Will any different than any other girl in a swimsuit.

Willowdean’s mother introduces her to the audience during the talent part of the competition. Mrs. Dixon announces that Willowdean will be performing magic tricks. Everyone in the auditorium, especially Will’s mother, is shocked when Willowdean comes out and starts lip-synching to Dolly Parton’s song “Jolene.” After the performance, Callie tells Willowdean that Will is going to be disqualified from the pageant, and Will replies that it was worth it.

Will’s mother also tells Will that she is disqualified. Mrs. Dixon tells Will that she should have known Will had some trick up her sleeve. Willowdean reminds her mother that she is not going to win the pageant and asks why she can’t just finish the pageant. Willowdean’s mother won’t make an exception for Willowdean because Will broke the pageant rules.

Mrs. Dixon realizes that despite weeks of not eating and nonstop exercise, she can’t zip up her formal pageant dress. Will saves the day by patching the dress together with industrial clips and duct tape.

Willowdean does end up walking the runway for the formal segment of the pageant. She walks as Ellen’s escort. Will wears the red dress that her mother bought her. When Ellen and Will leave the stage, they the remainder of the competition together. After hearing that Millie wins second place in the competition, Will leaves the auditorium only to run into Mitch and Patrick in the lobby. When Patrick cracks a joke, Willowdean tells him that he is not being funny and that no one is laughing.

After leaving the pageant, Willowdean, still in her red dress and heels, walks straight to Harpy’s. Bo comes out from the kitchen sucking on a red lollipop. He sees Willowdean and breaks out into a grin saying her name. Willowdean sighs.