Movie Review: “Whip It”
Franck Tabouring
Seen on: October 2, 2009
The players: Director: Drew Barrymore, Writer: Shauna Cross, Cast: Ellen Page, Marcia Gay Harden, Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis
Facts of interest: Drew Barrymore's directorial debut.
The plot: Ellen Page plays a Texas teenager who's fed up with beauty pageants and discovers her happiness in roller derby.
Our thoughts: Drew Barrymore celebrates her feature directorial debut with “Whip It,” and the result sure isn’t bad. The film is by no means perfect, but a terrific Ellen Page and a solid supporting cast inject a lot of energy and heart into Shauna Cross’ script, based on her novel about the world of women’s roller derby.
In yet another fine performance, Page plays Bliss Cavendar, a bored small-town Texas teenager who’s tired of her determined mother (Marcia Gay Harden) pushing her to participate in beauty pageants. Luckily for Bliss, things quickly change for the better when she discovers a small roller derby league in Austin.
While “Whip It” certainly doesn’t break new ground in the genre of inspirational sports dramas, the film remains remarkably honest throughout, which I found quite easy to appreciate. The plot looks and sounds a tad too familiar at times, but all in all, the movie still manages to offer cinemagoers a truly entertaining experience.
Page plays her character convincingly, and I found it very amusing to watch her grow from a shy, lonely teenager stuck in the middle of nowhere into a tough, ambitious young woman who finds her passion in roller derby and finally gets a shot at doing something that truly makes her happy.
Luckily, Bliss’ transformation isn’t too far-fetched, because “Whip It” does occasionally fall victim to the conventions of this popular genre. There’s all the longing for her parents’ understanding, the best friend who sooner or later feels neglected, and of course the handsome boy who isn’t exactly Mr. Right.
In these moments, “Whip It” lacks spirit, but luckily for us cinemagoers, they don’t steal the show. On the contrary, the real show is out there on the roller rink, and I admit some of the games are quite suspenseful and intriguing to follow. Barrymore also knows what she’s doing in the director’s chair, and that adds a lot of energy to these sequences.
“Whip It” really works best when it shows Bliss on the tracks and follows her on her quest to take this sport seriously and find her happiness away from home. The film also boasts a dose of light humor, which works best because of the talented cast. Page, Kristen Wiig, Barrymore and especially Andrew Wilson are all in top shape.
Freaky quote: "The last time I wore skates, they had Barbies on them." – Ellen Page
The final word: Barrymore’s “Whip It” has some serious attitude, and it’s the film’s ruthless energy that makes it work. Don’t expect any big surprises here, but roll into this with light expectations and you may enjoy the ride. Kudos again to Ellen Page, who delivers the goods every time she’s on the big screen. It’s all her folks!
Article by Franck Tabouring
Reader Comments (1)
Drew Barrymore did an awesome job directing Whip It; it was a lot of fun to watch -- made me want to go see some roller derby