Whip It is Drew Barrymore's directorial debut. I had a really fun time with this one. Bliss (Ellen Page) is a girl that's forced into beauty pageants by her overbearing mom (the always amazing Marcia Gay Harden). She has a father (Daniel "voice of Kevin Arnold" Stern) who seems to be pretty supportive, but very submissive to his wife. Bliss is clearly not a fan of having to do these pageants, but she's from a small town and that's all they have to offer.
One day on a trip out of town Bliss sees a roller derby match and manages to con her way onto a team even though she's underage and ends up becoming their champion player. Yes this thing plays out like every sports/competition film you've seen. Yet, it still works. Why you ask? Well, it's because these characters are well developed and the film is very well paced. Bliss and her family seem realistic and they each have good reason for behaving the way that they do. The characters' growth and realizations are realistic.
Judging from interviews I've seen with Drew Barrymore I would have never guessed that she could create such a cohesive project. I have clearly been disproved as this is a pretty tightly written and directed work. It is really just a fun and charming little film about a sport that has its own little sub-culture. If you don't want to go see a roller derby match after this I don't know what's wrong with you.
A solid 3 stars ***
Director - Drew Barrymore
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