Whip It (2009)

Well, my 9 year old daughter is starting to play roller derby, so naturally, I had to watch this! And I'm glad I did! Great cast and fun roller derby scenes! The romance sub-plot was a total dud for me, as was having an "evil" derby nemesis, but the rest was a fun watch! Page, Wiig, Bell, and Shawkat were excellent, and Harden is always great in that hard-mom role! Side note on her, when she's on screen in her USPS shirt, she totally looks like one of my former letter carrier co-workers! Dead on! If my daughter is still into roller derby in a few, 5 ish, years, I'll definitely watch this with her. Go Hurl Scouts!!!

Released in 2009, "Whip It" was Drew Barrymore's first and (so far) only full-length film in the director's chair. Drew also co-stars, but she's a side character and non-essential to the plot.The story revolves around 17 year-old Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page), her parents (Daniel Stern & Marcia Gay Harden) and her best friend, Pash (Alia Shawkat). Bliss is involved in the world of beauty pageants due to her mother's obsession, but becomes fascinated by a group of roller derby girls while visiting nearby Austin, TX. She decides to try-out for the the Hurl Scouts."Whip It" starts out slow and only mildly interesting but it ultimately won me over. This is basically a coming-of-age drama using the roller derby as a backdrop and stage. Since Ellen Page takes center focus, and does a great job, "Whip It" should appeal to fans of Page. I'm not a fan; I can take her or leave her. Thankfully, there's enough good here to draw in other folks.I especially like the roller derby girls and their camaraderie & competition. The girls include Juliette Lewis, Kristen Wiig, Eve, Zoe Bell, Ari Graynor, Eli Bleiler and Sydney Bennett. What I love about these women is that they have womanly curves and aren't walking sticks with big breasts. Take, for instance, the so-called Manson Sisters, played by Kristen Adolfi & Rachel Piplica; both are just jaw-droppingly gorgeous throughout the film and worth the price of admission -- stunning examples of womanhood.There's a subplot about Bliss falling for a guy in a rock band (Landon Pigg) and there are other characters, like the coach, the derby announcer and the Hispanic manager of the restaurant Bliss & Pash work at (Andrew Wilson, Jimmy Fallon and Carlo Alban respectively), but this is mainly about Bliss, her family, Pash and the derby girls.FINAL SAY: The drama in this coming-of-age flick is a mixed bag; I found the love story kind of tedious but enjoyed Pash and the family dynamics of the Cavendar household. The best part, of course, is the derby action and the ravishing derby babes in all their glory.The film runs 111 minutes and was mostly filmed in Michigan with some shots of Austin, TX.GRADE: B

Whip It is a movie starring Ellen Page as Bliss Cavendar which primarily focuses on her quest to find herself despite the many inner conflicts being stirred up by her mother. Her mother, Brooke Cavendar, is played by Marcia Gay Harden. Bliss's mother wants nothing more than for her daughter to become a success in the pageant world but it is clear very quickly that this is not the world in which Bliss belongs. Bliss's father, Earl Cavendar as played by Daniel Stern is more lenient and proves himself to want nothing more than for his daughter to be happy. There are several struggles between him and his wife Brooke displayed in the film. Bliss becomes familiar with the world of roller derby when she finds a flyer and somehow makes the team. Roller derby seems to be where she is destined to be and this movie takes the viewer on her journey as she battles with her mother and even some of her team mates to prove herself in this new world of derby. This film also starts some well-known faces including Drew Barry Moore as Smashley Simpson, Jimmy Fallon as Hot Tub Johnny Rocket and rapper, Eve as Rosa Sparks. The film is quirky and although there are some dramatic elements there is plenty of comedy sprinkled in. The film has as elements such as the movie Dogeball from 2004 starring Ben Stiller due to the comedic element and the make character's bought with adversity. The soundtrack to this movie was exceptionally great and with every song playing right on time. The music alone kept me glued to the television screen as I watched this young girl, Bliss, finds herself on this journey. The film was shot in a manner that makes the film seem timeless. The coloring used in the film almost gives the movie an eighties feel. The clothing chosen by the costume designer did not imply a specific era for the movie. The angles of the film during the actual roller derby make the viewer feel engaged and a part of the attending audience. There were some predictable happenings in the film but they were nothing that the unpredictable comedy could not make up for. By the end of the film, the characters become both relatable and likable. This quirky comedy with a classic plot is worth the watch.

Ever since childhood Drew Barrymore has been seen as one of the wild children of Hollywood and struggled to find her right calling. She has been in some good films like Donnie Darko but with Whip It she has shown she is a very capable director. So much so Barrymore has been linked to the Twilight series and already done a really good music video with Chloe Mortez.Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page) is a Texan 17-year-old who is unhappy with her life: her mum (Marcia Gay Harden) has been forcing her to enter into beauty pageants and all she want to do is escape her small town life. She gets an opportunity when in Austin she stills some roller derby girls and she tries out for a team in the local league. Bliss discovers she is a fast roller skater and with her abilities the worst team in the league start to win. But along the way Bliss falls for a local musician, Oliver (Landon Pigg), forms a friendship with her captain Maggie Mayhem (Kristen Wigg), forms a rivalry with the star power of a rival team, Iron Maven (Juliette Lewis) and has to hid her new activity from her parents.Whip It is both a sports film and a coming-of-age story and Barrymore and her writer Shauna Cross was able to balance both elements perfect. Tone and style wise it was very much like Juno (and not just because Ellen Page is starring in it). The dialogue is funny but unlike Juno it is more grounded and realistic and combined with the performances of the cast it was all very natural. The cinematography and the music was also very much like Juno, the music being a mix of old indie and rock and fitting to the setting. Barrymore also delivers some real strong set pieces, using hand-held cameras during the roller derby to follow the action and showing an underwater romantic scene. Barrymore was able to mix the comedy and drama to great effect, being funny with dialogue and physical humour whilst allowing Bliss to grow from an unhappy girl to a self-confidence young woman who finds her scene of belonging in the world.I am personally not a fan of Page, but I think in Whip It she delivers her best performance so far. Whilst I question her being a beauty queen because I believe Page has a more of a girl next door look about her; but her character was more likable then in Juno, someone who more believable then the cocky, sarcastic creature in that other film. Barrymore forms a strong female cast, Wiig plays a very straight role as a mentor to Bliss and Lewis is a typical bully, picking on someone she thinks is weaker then her. Harden starts of as a typical pushy parent but she too also grows and is given more depth then we usually see. Alia Shawkat plays a loyal friend really well and her friendship with Page was a believable typical teenage friendship. Drew Barrymore also has a small role, a character who is either hurting people or getting hurt herself: it was good that she avoided the self-indulgence of giving herself the mentor role. Out of the male members of the cast Andrew Wilson was very funny as the coach of the team and Daniel Stern is a typical supportive dad. For a man who has not acted before Pigg was also a very competent performer.One little bit of nicpicking I have is for a film that is set in Texas most of the cast talk in normal American accents, not Texan actresses. If they were going to speak in their normal voices why not set the film in another state like Kansas, Colorado or Arizona.The way Whip It plays out it feels very believable, a story that could actually happen. It was a natural little film.