Slow Going

I found a cardigan with buttons on it! They've become so rare these days, when stores only carry those fake cardigans that have no buttons. Not even zippers! Some of those so-called cardigans are so flimsy and thin too, making them totally useless in keeping you warm, which is the whole point of a sweater. But at last I found a comfy cardigan with buttons and pockets. Even better, I found a pretty dress with pockets too. Fashion styles can be so weird. I prefer clothes to be classic, easy, and practical.

Anyway, tonight the CW apparently started the three-way crossover. I guess it's slightly better than last year, with a different villain than the generic alternate world Nazis, and I am curious to see this Batwoman that they intend to build a show around. Supergirl's plotlines are so depressing lately that I guess I could use a break with this crossover.

I watched the new Netflix movie called Dumplin' because of the good reviews and the love of Dolly Parton. I was hoping it would be sweet and charming like All the Boys I've Loved Before, but I was disappointed. From the trailers and the premise, I thought that the beauty pageant stuff would be a fun comedy romp, and that Willowdean would be sassy and confident. But she spends a lot of the movie grieving her aunt, fighting with her mother, arguing with her best friend Ellen, and rejecting her love interest. People say this film is body-positive, but Willowdean is so insecure about whether Bo really likes her, and even when he tells her so, she still thinks that's not something that happens in the real world. All her confidence is gone, and it takes her quite a while to rediscover her positive Dolly spirit.


Willowdean said she wanted to be in the pageant to protest it, but then she makes no effort for a long time and resents her friend Ellen for wanting to have fun with it. Ellen sees no reason why political protest needs to feel serious and glum, nor why it can't mean joining other girls to support each other. It seems like Willowdean expected to attend each pageant training session and just stand there doing nothing, just to embarrass and anger her mother. She also made no preparations about the talent portion, or the clothes, and she still expected to somehow go to the final pageant without being disqualified for lack of effort. Wouldn't that require special treatment from her mother? She was supposedly doing it to honor her aunt Lucy, so shouldn't she have fully participated and maybe worn some of Aunt Lucy's clothes or something? She should have tried to win it all along, as aunt Lucy would have done. But no, she doesn't try until much later in the movie, after a lot of crying, soul searching, and making up with the other girls who joined. I liked Millie's attitude of really wanting to do the pageant and enjoy it. Sure, it may be a silly dream to have, but that doesn't mean she shouldn't go for it, if she really wants it.

Eventually Willowdean does make up with Ellen, connect with the other girls, and ask for help from the Dolly Parton drag queens, so the movie finally becomes a fun romp, with makeover montages and everything. Cheerful revolution and even a cute protest during the swimsuit portion (which is called Health & Fitness). Ultimately, the happy endings are joyful and earned, but I just didn't appreciate the long delay, where the angst took over for so long.