Whip It
Whip It; In Theatres Now
by Megan Carroll
Whip It; Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut is a feisty, female-driven action comedy. Juno’s Ellen Page stars as Bliss Cavendar, a young woman trying to find acceptance within her family and break free of the bonds of her small-town life. Enter the rough and tumble world of roller derby—the sport that brings out the best in Bliss. It is the stage for Bliss to learn more about life, love and looming adulthood.
A timid high school student in a small Texas town, Bliss’ future seems pretty predictable; beauty pageants which her mother (played by the always brilliant Marcia Gay Harden) forces her to compete in, and working at the Oink Joint slinging pounds of pork for the locals. Disheartened and scared, Bliss stumbles across a flier for the local derby league and decides to sneak out and watch. Set in an abandoned warehouse and surrounded by girls with names like Bloody Holly, Rosa Sparks and Iron Maven (played by the rockstar and awesome actress Juliette Lewis) she finds the courage to create a new path for herself and the result is an awesome ride; but the road is bumpy.
Bliss is compact, but fast and gets dubbed Babe Ruthless. She lies about her age and joins the last place Hurl Scouts, which includes uncontrollable and violent artist Smashley Simpson (Barrymore), den mother Maggie Mayhem (Kristin Wiig) and frustrated coach Razor (Andrew Wilson, older brother of Owen and Luke Wilson). This incredibly strong cast and a fast-paced, extreme sport make this film electric for the audience. Whip It is a marvelously entertaining film celebrating the bond between women that’s more funny and smart than girly.
Shauna Cross’ screenplay (adapted from her novel) cleverly weaves the rough sport into a dazzling coming-of-age story. The Hurl Scouts, with the help of their new player Ruthless, slowly start to make their way up the ranks, which makes the matches even rougher (note: all the actors do their own skating.). Though at times these skate matches seem to be too well rehearsed – like watching synchronized swimming – it is still mayhem and fun to watch. Off the track, we see Bliss’ confidence and self-actualization bloom. With this newfound strength she is more willing to defy her parents and bond with her new tattooed, helmet-clad extended family.
The film is perfectly cast and Barrymore instills her very impressive first feature with humor and a bounty of spirit and heart. Bliss’ parents, played by Daniel Stern (why does this man not get more work?) and Marcia Gay Harden, seem like real people, real parents which really solidified the tone of this film: real life with all of its love and bruises.
Without being obvious, Whip It reminds us of the strength and bond we need to create as women, no matter the type of relationship: be it mother-daughter or friend-to friend. True friendship means being able to kick ass on the track and then go and party like Rockstars together. Whip It!
