Have you ever wished for a movie about a violent roller-skating sport for women? With Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut of Whip It, your dream has now come true. Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page) is a misunderstood teenage girl aching to get away from a small-town life where certain things are expected of her. She takes part in beauty pageants to fulfill the expectations of her mother (Marcia Gay Harden), but doesn’t really fit in. When Bliss finally discovers Roller Derby, a new world opens up for her. She’s asked to try out for the Austin team (called Hurl Scouts) and ends up joining them as Babe Ruthless, her Roller Derby alter-ego. While hiding this new dream from her parents, Bliss devotes most of her time to practice and spending time with her team mates and opponents (Kristen Wiig as Maggie Mayhem, Drew Barrymore as Smashly Simpson, and Juliette Lewis as Iron Maven), whilst also falling in love. It all comes to a climax when her parents find out that Bliss is living a secret life, and her team mates discover that Bliss has been lying about her age in order to compete.
Drew Barrymore has nailed her first directorial job by creating a fresh, non-cliche look into a girl’s turbulent life. While the basic plot elements are nothing unusual (e.g. the teenager rebelling against parents’ expectations, and the underdog sports team that rises to glory), there are enough twists to make the story unique. Based on the book Derby Girl by Shauna Cross, the screenplay makes Whip It entertaining, funny, and inspirational.
With Ellen Page’s stellar acting, lots of action, and numerous funny moments, I thoroughly enjoyed Whip It, and would rank it among my top 10 movies of 2009.
You can now pre-order Whip It on Amazon
