Rachel Lee Goldenberg directs and co-writes “Swiped”, a biographical drama that follows the professional career of Whitney Wolfe Herd. If you’re like me, that may not be a name you’re familiar with. Herd was the co-founder of the popular dating app Tinder and later the founder and CEO of the dating and social networking app Bumble. She broke down countless barriers, and as a result of her work she became the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire.

Goldenberg’s story, which she co-wrote with Bill Parker and Kim Caramele, begins with Whitney Wolfe (wonderfully played by Lily James) trying to raise capital for her new startup. The Whitney we are introduced to is smart, ambitious, and determined. It’s those traits that impress a young upstart CEO named Sean Rad (Ben Schnetzer) who hires her to be the Marketing Director for his own startup, Cardify.

But his fortune changes when Rad launches a new dating app called Tinder. Despite being one of the big brains behind the app, Whitney watches as Rad and his two frat-boyish partners, Justin (Jackson White) and Jonathan (Ian Colletti) take most of the credit. That is until Whitney takes the app on a college marketing blitz starting with her alma mater, SMU. As a result, Tinder’s downloads skyrocket and Whitney is promoted to co-founder.

But despite her new status within the company, Whitney can’t penetrate the poorly veiled boys club at the top. A big chunk of the movie examines that workplace dynamic which only intensifies after she starts dating fellow founder Justin. Misogyny, jealousy, and harassment follow as Goldenberg takes a scalpel to the male-dominated tech industry culture. Unfortunately her blade never quite breaks the skin of what could have been an insightful interrogation of a pertinent subject.

The problem lies in the sometimes skittish storytelling that sweeps us from point to point without ever really planting its feet anywhere. That leaves it feeling as if there’s far more to the story than we’re getting. The male characters are especially puzzling, often lurching from compassionate and supportive to diabolically vile without much dramatic notice. Never is this more true than in the last act when her billionaire backer and loyal ally Andrey Andreev (a hard to recognize Dan Stevens) becomes an enabling heel on a dime.

Much of those issues stem from the film’s obvious girl-boss aspirations. From all indications the filmmakers stretch the real-life story beyond its bounds in their efforts to emphasize empowerment. And despite delivering several piercing scenes showing the various shades of workplace misogyny, “Swiped” has a tendency of moving along too quickly rather delving deeper into the people involved. The shallow treatment isn’t just reserved for the sexist tech-bros. Later, Whitney meets and falls for a hunky cowboy (Pierson Fodé), a good catch with little personality and less agency who mostly lingers in the background.

Even with its flaws, “Swiped” quite easily holds your attention and it does a decent job getting its overall point across. The often underrated Lily James elevates the film on her own. And it’s worth telling the story of Whitney Wolfe Herd, a young woman from Salt Lake City who created her first startup in her dorm room before going on to become a successful groundbreaker for women in the tech space. Yet by the end, while I knew what Herd had endured and accomplished, I never felt like I really knew her. Another example of where a little more time and attention could have made a world of difference. “Swiped” releases September 19th exclusively on Hulu.

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS