Whip It
By Nick Manteris · 0 Comments · Leave a Comment
Whip It is a coming-of-age story adapted from the novel Derby Girl by Shauna Cross. It is also the directorial debut of Drew Barrymore, who appears as the character Smashley Simpson and seems to be having an absolutely wonderful time whenever she is onscreen. The ever-adorable Ellen Page plays Bliss Cavendar, a 17-year-old misfit that gets dragged to beauty pageants by her mother and works at a place called The Oink Joint with her best friend Pash. Bliss and Pash don’t really fit in and they just want to escape the small-town life of Bodeen, their (fictional) hometown. Bliss discovers a flyer for a roller derby event in nearby Austin, Texas, which provides the catalyst for everything that comes afterwards.
The story doesn’t really offer up any surprises, but there is such an honest fun about the film that it doesn’t really matter. Barrymore infuses the film with the same level of enthusiasm that she seems to possess and the amount of fun visible onscreen implies an even more fun behind-the-scenes environment. And somehow, the performances by Hardin and Page provide extra legitimacy to the Cavendar’s already fairly realistic household. There are also several interesting minor characters that it would have been nice to hang out with for a while, but the rocker boy subplot steals all of the time that would have been needed to make that happen. And even though it feels like a scene from another film, the swimming pool interlude is an enchanting, beautiful moment that makes up for spending time on that rocker boy instead of some of the more interesting roller derby girls.
This is the first truly “feel-good” movie since Bend It Like Beckham and now – when I finally attend a real roller derby match – I will actually know what’s going on without having to ask anyone. It’s a shame that I missed the pre-release screening for Whip It, but, unfortunately, it was a short-notice invitation at a specific time when I had a prior engagement. It would have been nice to tell everyone about the film before it was in theaters though. Now I can only tell you to watch out for the next project from Drew Barrymore because her first film is fun and well worth your time.
