Review: ‘Whip It’ features genuine authenticity with crushing elbows to the face
Drew Barrymore’s shows off directing talent with ‘Whip It’
Coming-of-age stories always retain a certain formula that usually consists of a teen full of angst breaking free from the shackles of expectations. Either placed on them by their parents or society as a whole, the subject usually discovers a passion which is usually not accepted by the film’s oppressors until the end, usually concluding in a tearful moment. The same is true for Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut with Whip It. Though the story, based on the novel Derby Girl by Shauna Cross who also adapted the story for screen, seems awfully generic on paper, it flies across the screen with warmth, genuine authenticity and crushing elbows to the face.
Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page) isn’t like all the rest of ‘em. Growing up in the small town of Bodeen, Texas, 17-year-old Bliss is surrounded by grunting jocks and done-up pageant goers, something lost on the porcelain-faced girl. Luckily, Bliss has a job waiting tables with her best friend Pash (Alia Shawkat) at the local eatery named the Oink Joint where she peddles The Squealer, a ginormous BBQ sandwich that’s free if you can scarf it down in less than 3 minutes. Well…maybe she’s not so lucky. Wearing duct-taped shoes, heavy-metal tees and displaying a penchant for huffing and puffing her existence in a life not her own, Bliss’ fortunes change when her mom (Marcia Gay Harden, fantastic) takes her to Austin to buy some shoes from a hipster vintage clothing shop with pretty vases in the cabinet <snicker>.
Then fate rolls in. Members of a local roller derby team slap down some fliers for an upcoming game which automatically draws the attention of young Bliss like a light bulb exploding. Our slightly depressed heroine enlists Pash to head out to Austin to check out a game between the Hurl Scouts and the Black Widows. “You’re, like, my new heroes,” she tells team veteran Maggie Mayhem (SNL’s Kristen Wiig). “Why don’t you come out to practice this weekend and be your own hero,” she tells Bliss.
After strapping on her Barbie roller skates and besting time trials, young Bliss becomes a member of the lackluster Hurl Scouts led by team manager Razor (Andrew Wilson); a squad whose underachievement is legendary in the halls of blah. Featuring the likes of Bloody Holly (Zoe Bell), Rosa Sparks (Eve) and Smashley Simpson (Drew Barrymore), they finally sense a need to win thanks to the skills that Bliss, who now goes by the name of Babe Ruthless, brings to the rink. It also doesn’t help that the team’s arch-rival, the arrogant Iron Maven (Juliette Lewis) is, like, being a total jerk to everybody.
Ellen Page doesn’t break the iron-clad type-casted grip that seems to be holding her in smart-ass alt-teen roles. From her under-appreciated Hard Candy to the over-hyped Juno and the abysmal Smart People, the channeling of her “I’m too cool for the room” type of gal is as keen as ever. It should be; that’s all she does. However in Whip It, you won’t find the annoying Juno MacGuff. Instead, viewers will find a refreshing and thoughtful character that doesn’t live in a bubble of self-righteousness. Finally.
If it weren’t for the incredible surrounding cast, Page wouldn’t be able to pop off the screen. Kristen Wiig, though reverting to her typical oddball SNL trappings like in Adventureland, plays her role straight and offers Bliss moments of much-needed clarity in the third act. Andrew Wilson’s Coach Razor adds the kind of perfectly timed comedy that only members of the Wilson family can do while Jimmy Fallon does his best Jimmy Fallon impression as the game announcer.
It would be easy for Barrymore to turn this movie into a girl-power themed shlock-fest. From the girl who rejects labels and dreams placed on her by her mother, a largely absent father, to dealing with a boy who may be less than forthcoming with his personal time (one of the few awkward transitions in the film), Whip It could have easily been made into a female empowerment film and to a certain extent it is. Yet more than that, Whip It is a universal movie about overcoming obstacles and finding one’s own way and having fun doing it. Sure, the theme is paint-by-numbers, but the feelings are real.
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