Whip It Movie Review
Drew Barrymore and Ellen Page Make This New Comedy a Must-See Movie
Oct 3, 2009
Whip It follows Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page), a 17-year-old trapped in her small town of Bodeen, Texas and an endless cycle of beauty pageants. She lives with her well-intentioned but high-strung mother (Marcia Gay Harden) and relaxed, football-watching father (Daniel Stern), and is desperate to get away from her small-town life. Bliss passes her days being tormented at school and working with her best friend Pash (Alia Shawkat) at the Oink Joint diner.
On a trip to Austin with her mother, Bliss sees a flyer for roller derby. After hatching a plot with Pash involving a football game and a couple of lies to her parents, the two girls check out the underground world of the all-female sport. And as Bliss says to one of the derby girls, Maggie Mayhem (Kristen Wiig), “You guys are my new heroes,” a new roller derby girl is born.
Bliss enters a world that she has never seen before, in which women are tattooed and pierced, rock stage names like Smashley Simpson and Bloody Holly, and participate in a sport that is both kitschy and violent. After speaking with Maggie Mayhem, she tries out with The Hurl Scouts and the rest is history.
Whip It Beats the Chick Flick Formula
The movie gets across its strong girl power messages through Bliss’ transformation from a quiet and reserved reluctant pageant competitor, to a tough and fast roller derby girl named Babe Ruthless. Her team drink and hit like sailors, yet become the strong role models and forceful female figures that Bliss needs to meet. Out of the wacko world of roller derby, which includes a hippy coach named Razor (Andrew Wilson), buffoon of a sport announcer named ‘Hot Tub’ Jonny Rocket (Jimmy Fallon), and derby girl Smashley Simpson (Drew Barrymore in a delightfully minor role for a celebrity director), Bliss finds her new family.
Whip It tackles many of the familiar themes and plot development found in “chick flick” movies, such as family and boy troubles; yet it tackles them with an intelligence and faith in the female lead that many other predominantly female films sorely lack. Towards the end of the movie, the audience sees Bliss deal with the problems in her life in a way that leaves us confident in the transformation of her character.
Why Whip It is a Smart New Comedy
The film is a promising directorial debut for A-list Hollywood actress Drew Barrymore. She does not try to do too much with the film, instead focusing on her powerful and well-cast characters and quirky script. Ellen Page shines once again as Bliss Canvendar, bringing a believability and intelligence to her character. Page continues to be a top-notch role model for young girls. The script, developed by former roller derby girl Shauna Cross from her own novel, is nothing earth-shattering but well-written and a fun introduction into a lesser-seen world. The final product can be described as boisterous, empowering, funny, and smart.
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