Parents' Guide to Double XL

Movie NR 2022 128 minutes
Double XL movie poster: Leads Sonakshi Sinha and Huma Qureshi try and squeeze through a doorway, shopping bags in hand.

Common Sense Media Review

Ishmeet Nagpal By Ishmeet Nagpal , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 13+

Indian comedy-drama promotes body positivity amid fatphobia.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 13+?

Any Positive Content?

  • Double XL: Two Indian women sitting on a bench.
  • Double XL: An Indian woman in a pink dress dances with an Indian man with a shaved head, wearing a dinner jacket and bowtie.
  • Double XL: Two Indian women and a man line up a camera for a fashion shoot in a London street.

Parent and Kid Reviews

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What's the Story?

DOUBLE XL tells the tale of two women as they try to mend their relationship with food and their bodies. While Rajshri (Huma Qureshi) struggles to battle misogyny and avoid an arranged marriage, Saira (Sonakshi Sinha) keeps getting hurt in romantic relationships with men who don't respect her. Both of them lose career opportunities because of fatphobia, but when they band together, their support leads each other to success.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say : Not yet rated
Kids say : Not yet rated

The Indian comedy-drama sets out to change the world, but forgets to populate its story with enough novelty to keep the audience engaged. The pace of Double XL wavers frequently, Zaheer Iqbal as Zorawar is hammy and irritating, and Qureshi as Rajshri is burdened with carrying the entire movie on her shoulders. The subtitles are also a hack job, mis-translating important conversations by using "overweight/obese/obesity" when the Hindi words actually meant "fat/fatness." This really takes away from the movie for non-Hindi speakers. What's more, for a movie that spends a considerable portion of its time prepping the launch of a fashion line, the clothes are atrocious. This frumpiness takes away from the satisfaction and euphoria the audience could have felt at the climax. Spending 128 minutes pontificating about fatphobia while making all their fat characters wear ugly clothes defeats the purpose. Though the movie is certainly enjoyable in parts, fat women deserve better representation.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what Double XL had to say about our bodies. What do you understand the term "body positivity" to mean? Why is it important to be kind to ourselves with regard to how we look? How does fatphobia affect fat people's mental health and confidence?

  • The film touches upon eating disorders. How can one recognize disordered eating? Where can you seek help if you or someone you know is struggling?

  • How did some of the characters display teamwork, perseverance, compassion, empathy, and courage? Why are these such important life skills to have?

  • How was drinking and drug use depicted in the film? Were they glamorized? Why does that matter?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by

Double XL movie poster: Leads Sonakshi Sinha and Huma Qureshi try and squeeze through a doorway, shopping bags in hand.

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