Whip It – Review

Say what you will about Drew Barrymore and her acting skills, but her first directorial effort in Whip It is a lot of fun. A visual director she is not, but she keeps things moving with a funky attitude, that’s all sorts of contagious. For any males out there, that might feel from seeing the trailers, that this is some sort of a “chick flick”, you will be greatly mistaken. Why does a film centered on women, have to be a “chick flick”? It’s a grave misconception, even though the film centers on female roller derby athletes, and the protagonist goes through a coming-of-age arc, the film’s underlining theme is universal enough for all to enjoy, and by the end, man or women, if you don’t feel happy or inspired, then you aren’t alive.

I really like Ellen Page and having seen all of her movies outside of Juno, I realized she makes interesting decisions and choices. I think the Tracey Fragments is her most risky choice. She’s pitch perfect here, probably adopting Drew Barrymore’s spunky attitude, but her character goes through a nice arc. Essentially shoved typical or traditional archetypes of a woman’s role in society, she longs for something more. Her posture and attitude might seem alternative, but like she says in response to a group of cool kids, alternative to what? Exactly, and who can’t relate to that? She finds herself in this niche sport of roller derby, as it represents the only thing that makes her feel like herself, and not some fake princess her mom wishes her to be.

Don’t go in expecting a strict study of the sport, but who really cares that isn’t this film. Barrymore makes the events fun, especially establishing certain characters like Razor (a fun Andrew Wilson), the coach who has plays that they won’ bother to learn, the uber-bitch Iron Maven (Juliette Lewis), and Maggie Mayhem (a continuing-to-impress Kristen Wiig). I like these characters and love their banter and drama. This is more of a character piece, than a film on the roller derby sport, but Barrymore and screenwriter Shauna Cross have a lot of fun with the ins-and-outs of the sport, so much so, that I might be looking for it on TV soon.

Whip It has a great soundtrack underscoring everything, but it’s the film rallying spirit to glorify being yourself that makes it a winner. The subplot of Bliss (Ellen Page) and her mom (played by Marcia Gay Harden) is the backbone of the film. The film has plenty of comedy appropriately spaced in between the drama, especially from Smashley Simpson (Barrymore) and Earl (Daniel Stern), Bliss’ dad. If there’s anything that did get short-sighted it was Bliss’ romance with this boy, who happened to be in a band. While it works for the most part, the ending of it feels rushed and too ambiguous for its own good, but I want to stress that it doesn’t hurt the film. It’s just didn’t work for me like it should have. Whip It is a rare film that, if by the end you’re not inspired or ready to pump your fist, then you’re just too cold-hearted.

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