Whip It. 117 minutes. Rated M. Directed by Drew Barrymore. Written by Shauna Cross, based on her novel Derby Girl.
As long ago as the late 1880s, newspapers were reporting about the emergence of a new phenonemon: racers on rollerskates. Today, the contact sport that would become known (and trademarked) as 'roller derby' is enjoying a global renaissance that is captivating a new generation of participants and their devoted fans. It is an inspired world of indie-chicks with fantastic 'stage names', awesome costumes, strict rules and plenty of attitude. That it remains an almost exclusively female domain lends the sport a serious amount of enigmatic fascination.
Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page) is suffering from a severe case of the small-town blues. When she is not working part-time at a local fast-food outlet 'The Oink Joint', she is being mercilessly dragged around to a never-ending calendar of beauty pageants by her mother 'Brooke' (the superb Marcia Gay Harden), who is determined that her plain-Jane daughter will fulfill her all-American obligation and become a Beauty Queen. But when mother and daughter are out shopping for new shoes and a group of girls rollerskate into the shop to deliver a handful of leaflets for an upcoming roller derby competition, Bliss's life is changed forever.
Whip It marks the directorial debut of actress and producer Drew Barrymore who, since she was catapulted to international fame as 'Gertie' in Steven Spielberg's ET: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), has celebrated her life and career as one of absolute self-definition. It is, therefore, hardly surprising that she should choose to bring Shauna Cross's inspirational story about the extent to which this fascinating sport brought about such significant change in her life, to the screen.
Ellen Page (who was nominated for the Best Actress Academy Award for her performance in Juno), is fantastic as Bliss. She is well-supported by a great supporting cast which includes Juliette Lewis as 'Iron Maven', Barrymore as 'Smashley Simpson', Saturday Night Live's Kristen Wiig as 'Maggie Mayhem' and Alia Shawkat as her best friend and confidante 'Pash'. Bliss's 'Hurl Scouts' teammates are complemented by actual roller derby stars, which not only lends the film a crucial authenticity in its many fast and furious roller derby sequences, but also balances out the recognisable actors in the cast with a nicely-grounded lack of pretension.
While it eventually suffers from a serious bout of roller derby repetition and fatigue, Whip It wins points for opting to keep it real. It also benefits from a great soundtrack and some powerful confrontations about the importance of independence and aspiring to live the life you want to live. It's also interesting to discover a film that places burgeoning young love in a meaningful context, and the manner in which Bliss refuses to have her exciting new journey interrupted for very long by her love for young muso Oliver (Landon Pigg), is absolutely refreshing. Ultimately, Whip It is a very impressive debut behind the camera for Ms Barrymore, and a film that will, if nothing else, introduce the wonderful world of roller derby to yet more fans and followers.
This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspapers Group and was published in the print edition of the Midwest Times.
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