Whip It: Fun Look at an Almost Forgotten Women's Sport

Girls in rough sports have made movie storylines for years.  It's mostly girls trying to play on male football, basketball, soccer, track, etc. teams.  So how entertaining to find the right cast to pull the sport of women's Roller Derby out of mothballs.  My rating:  $8.00 (1.-10.).

Marcia Gay Harden plays Brooke Cavendar, ex-beauty queen turned postal carrier.  With two daughters, 17 year-old Bliss and 11 year-old Shania (Harden's real daughter, Eulala Scheel), she somehow thinks pushing them to win beauty pageants will make their lives more successful than hers.  A hint things aren't going to work:  Bliss walks out during a pageant luncheon in her perfect formal dress and purple hair. 

Ellen Page, who plays Bliss, never ages.  She looked 15 when she was 18 in 'Hard Candy' (2005).  She looked 17 when she was 20 in "Juno".  She now plays a 17 year-old misfit when she's 4 months from turning 23.  Is there an aging portrait in some attic?  Will she be stuck playing indefinable teens?  Who knows?  I just know that her wide-eyed charisma sucks me in every time.  Having a 20-year-old daughter who pings back and forth between being all grown up and sitting in my lap, Page's delivery of lines like...'Seriously....MOM!" or "Really?...you gotta get over this!" are perfectly endearing. 

When a girl comes of age in a movie, she has to start out as the ugly duckling with prospects.  Bliss Cavendar has no affinity for girly pageants.  It's obvious to all but her mother.  Without a direction in life, she just goes with mom's flow.  Her grades aren't terrible.  She works responsibly at the nearby BBQ bar.  And, she gets lots of guff from the "cool" kids who have cars, play sports, cheerlead, and don't have to work.  Her world includes one close friend, co-waitress, Pash (familiar-face, Alia Shawkat).  Pash has a car.  This helps broaden their horizons.

At the mall with mom, she's fascinated by a bunch of girls on roller skates handing out flyers for roller derby in a town an hour away.  For some reason known only to a bored teen, Bliss decides to defy logic and her parents to go view her first derby.  Pash gets to drive, against her better judgment.  Bliss becomes thoroughly enamored by the sport and the lively personalities who play it.  I think the derby cast helped me enjoy the movie, also.  Kristen Wiig plays the 'mother' of the group, Maggie Mayhem, who takes Bliss under wing.  Singer and part time actress, Eve, plays Rosa Sparks.  Stuntwoman turned actress, Zoe Bell, plays Bloody Holly.  Juliette Lewis (who seemed very tall and dangerous) plays Iron Maven -- derby star who hit her stride in her 30's versus Bliss' 17 years.  Lastly comes Drew Barrymore who plays dopey, Smashley Simpson.  Hers is probably the worst acting in the movie -- I just wanted to slap that stupid look off her face.  Thankfully, she's not stupid since she did an excellent job in her directorial job. 

I was surprised to learn that the Wilson brothers are three.  The oldest brother is Andrew who plays 'Razor', the derby coach.  I recognized his scruffy face but never put him together with his more famous brothers, Luke and Owen.  Andrew's just so much fun as the frustrated coach who gives their plays to the opposing team when his own team refused to cooperate.  Jimmy Fallon, who I think tries to hard, was actually likeable as the derby announcer.  Daniel Stern plays goofy but supportive dad, Earl. 

Roller Derby is a smash'em up sport.  We get to see some of the (probably) real bruises the size of Florida on bums, legs, hips, etc.  Page does a good job showing dedication in practice to become really good in a short time.  There is, however, only one really bad hit on Page in the whole movie.  That was good although not believable.  She would have been pulverized otherwise.  We also get to overlook the many times she stays out all night before someone catches her.  She's out skating around cones in the street for hours...but her parents have no clue.  She gets the singer in a boy band to date her (when she puts contacts in and begins her transformation into swan).  Played by newcomer with flawed good looks and a great voice, Landon Pigg romances our little sweetheart.  Bliss handles the whole thing with such a grounded attitude.  That was almost unbelievable, too.  Nevertheless, we want to love Bliss as "Babe Ruthless", her derby alter ego.  The whole movie is just wonderful entertainment. 

Shauna Cross wrote the original book, "Derby Girl", and adapted it to this screenplay.  Nice job for a newbie.  As I said before, Drew Barrymore directed.  It's rated 'PG-13' and runs about 2 hours with trailers.  All about coming of age, moms and daughters will get a kick out of seeing this movie together.  It's a harmless date movie, too.  It's just FUN.  Go see it!

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