'Swiped' review: Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd's story doesn't go deep enough

WHAT IT'S ABOUT "Swiped" dramatizes the story of Whitney Wolfe Herd, the founder and CEO of Bumble, the dating app in which women must initiate conversations.

Lily James plays the entrepreneur in the movie, which is written and directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg. Despite ostensibly telling the Bumble story, it in fact spends most of its time focused on the protagonist's experiences as one of the co-founders of the dating app Tinder. There, in the movie's depiction of events, early successes gave way to a horrifically toxic workplace that culminated in a sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit.

Co-stars include the British actor Dan Stevens as the Russian entrepreneur Andrey Andreev, Myha'la ("Leave the World Behind") and Dermot Mulroney, the latter of whom appears for about two minutes in total.

MY SAY We've gotten a whole bunch of these tech origin tales in recent years, covering everything from Uber to the BlackBerry to WeWork and more. 

By now, we all know exactly how these movies and miniseries work. They follow the same basic pattern. Where one might have once shared in the thrill of getting a bunch of college users to sign up for Tinder, or of watching at HQ as the app crossed the millionth user threshold, now it all seems so routine.

"Swiped" has something extra going for it, because it tells the story of a unique trailblazer in this space. It finds a reason for being once the story delves into the severe gender-based mistreatment it says Herd faced at Tinder and shows her efforts to change a rotten culture when she struck out on her own.

But far too much of this movie feels like business as usual. It's a lot to ask an audience to sit through Tinder's rise to prominence, including a dating/research montage, and to then also endure the same basic narrative for Bumble about an hour-plus later.

It breezes through a lot of tech history very quickly, ensuring that none of it leaves an impression.

Herd is a fascinating individual with a story that's clearly worth telling, but the movie shortchanges her. We learn almost nothing about her that resonates. James is a first-rate actor with an extensive resume (her credits include "Downton Abbey," "Pam & Tommy" and plenty more), but she never finds a way into this character. As depicted in "Swiped," Whitney Wolfe Herd is a symbol, more than a fully rendered person.

The movie does not shy away from depicting a misogynistic work culture. That Herd rises so far above her lowest point is, of course, a triumph. But the movie's in such a rush to take us from Tinder's beginnings through Bumble's rise to prominence that we're never given the opportunity to pause for a moment and to really feel what she feels. 

BOTTOM LINE It's far too shallow of a movie for such an important subject.