Drew Barrymore makes an impressive directorial debut with this coming of age story set in the world of Roller Derby. This is a sports movie for women, by women, starring women. I suspect men will have little trouble enjoying it as well. Adorable Ellen Page (Juno) plays Bliss, a socially awkward teenager from Bodeen, Texas, who is thrust into the world of pageants by her mother (Marcia Gay Harden). One day while shopping in a thrift store, she sees three women skate into the store and leave some fliers about an upcoming Roller Derby.
Intrigued, she recruits her best friend Pash (Alia Shawkat of Arrested Development) to venture into Austin for the event. She is immediately captivated by the sport. She dusts off her old Barbie skates and tries out for the team. After making the team, she becomes an unlikely hero, using her small stature to weave in, out, and around her competitors. The title refers to a move the team uses when they grab her by the hand and catapult her ahead of the pack “whipping” her into position.
This movie is a blast, despite having all the sport movie clichés. Shauna Cross’s screenplay is not exactly brimming with originality. Underdog, check. Disapproving parents, check. First love, check. Climatic final match, check. However, the dynamic cast and the unusual sporting event breathe new life into the genre. Ellen Page is fantastic, and captures the insecurities of her character perfectly. A scene where she gets her heart broken takes your breath away. I actually felt like someone had punched me in the gut. You see her character harden a bit with steely resolve as she climbs the next rung on the ladder of life. The mother/daughter scenes hold a lot of emotional resonance, and were very believable.
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