Whip It
– Three and a half stars (out of four)
– Rated PG-13 for sexual content including crude dialogue, language and drug material.
– Who’s going to like it: everyone.
Pure, laughable entertainment with a heart
It’s always refreshing when you go to a small movie knowing nothing about it – zero expectations – and it ends up being something fantastic. All I knew about Whip It before the screening was that it starred Ellen Page (Juno), it was about girl’s roller derby and that it was directed by Drew Barrymore (Charlie’s Angels). Leaving the screening, I was glad that was all I previously knew about it because it ended up being one of those little gems you rarely get to enjoy.
Page plays Bliss, a high school teen coming into her own, learning that she’s not the beauty pageant participant that her controlling and overbearing mother (Marcia Gay Harden, Mystic River) raised her to be. While trying to discover her true self, Bliss sneaks out of her small town of Bodeen, Texas to watch Austin’s local roller derby league play. Intrigued by the newly found sport, Bliss decides to strap on her old Barbie skates, polish up on her rollerskating skills and try out for the team. Upon seeing her speedy skating abilities, coach Razor (played by Luke and Owen’s little-known, yet hilarious brother Andrew Wilson) adds her to the Hurl Scout team, giving her the skating name Babe Ruthless. Teammates include Maggie Mayhem (Kristen Wiig, SNL), Bloody Holly (Zoe Bell, Deathproof), Rosa Sparks (musician Eve) and Smashley Simpson (Barrymore). With the help of their new talented teammate and Razor’s new playbook, the Hurl Scouts begin the long season of roller derby with the goal of beating their arch rival Iron Maven (Juliette Lewis, Natural Born Killers) and her team, the Holy Rollers.
What a great little film! With it’s great cast and hilarious script, it’s filled with so many charming and memorable laughs. Jimmy Fallon (Late Night with Jimmy Fallon) arguably gives his best performance as the league’s dirty announcer “Hot Tub” Johnny Rocket. Alia Shawkat (Maeby from Arrested Development) plays Bliss’ smart and slutty best friend. Daniel Stern (Home Alone, City Slickers) also arguably give his best performance as Bliss’ loving and proud push-over dad. And how can you no laugh at all of the derby girl names? Jaba the Slut. Eva Destruction. Juana Beat’n. Kami Kaze.
There’s just one little dismissable thing that keeps Whip It from being a perfect four-star movie – it has a few typical plot points. The majority of the film is completely original. But some of the story flows in a typical manner. In those cases, it usually breaks your predictions. But the fact that it goes down that same old road again is the one thing keeping Whip It from being what I call a “perfect” film.
Again, don’t just take my word on how good Whip It is – look it up online. Critics and general audiences alike are loving it. I guarantee that Whip It will end up being just as big an indie hit as Juno and Little Miss Sunshine.
Photo credit: Fox Searchlight
