Drew Barrymore makes her directorial debut with the ensemble film Whip It, which follows one girl’s odyssey through the Texas roller derby circuit.
A chick flick with wheels, Whip It tells the tale of misfit Bliss (Ellen Page), trying to find a place to fit in, in her suburban Texas town. Not one for the beauty pageants her former beauty queen mother (Marcia Gay Harden) has her competing in, Bliss is turned on to the world of bad ass chicks of the roller derby circuit. With more grrrl power than pageants can offer, the Hurl Scouts derby team has Bliss enamored with the sport and the ladies themselves. Lying about her age, Bliss makes the team and enters the world of over-21 derby, balancing her boring home life with her wild nights on the skating track as Babe Ruthless.
Triple threat actress, producer, director Barrymore, is impossibly hard not to like, especially after hearing her speak at the film’s world premiere. She is genuinely grateful and excited to unleash Whip It on the world. Unfortunately, Whip It never rises to the challenge, though that’s not due to her directing skills, but rather to a ho-hum plot. The film’s not bad by any means, but it’s just not that great either. Based on the novel Derby Girl by Shauna Cross, Whip It has a solid block of material to work with, but the problem is that the film stops short on actually taking off beyond the usual problems teen girls face in movies: the cheating boyfriend, best friend issues, career path choices, and maternal bonding. Just this time, it’s all done on wheels. Without this unique angle, the storyline is simply your run-of-the-mill after school special about finding one’s identity and all that comes with being 17 years old.
The roller derby scenes are expertly directed and feature so much speed and action, I am sure the Toronto Roller Derby League is going to have dozens of new converts to the sport each with a feisty skater name. With an all-star ensemble cast featuring Ellen Page, Juliette Lewis, rapper Eve, Daniel Stern, Marcia Gay Harden, Alia Shawkat, Kristen Wiig, Jimmy Fallon, and Barrymore herself, Whip It’s best scenes take place on the roller skating track.
Ellen Page’s character Bliss- or Babe Ruthless if she’s on the track- isn’t too far removed from Juno, but with a lot less sass, and ultimately less annoying. Page however, is a great actress, which is one of the main reasons Whip It is endearing and entertaining. Page is so believable as teenage Bliss as the character’s complex emotions are conveyed so simply in her facial expression.
The breakout star of Whip It would have to be “Saturday Night Live” comedienne Kristen Wiig, who moves away from comedy and plays one of the straightest characters in the film, Malice in Wonderland. Wiig gets a chance to shine outside of farces like The Brothers Solomon in a leading role which she deftly handles with as much grace and charm one could have on roller skates. Juliette Lewis as Dinah Might is a formidable foe for the Hurl Scouts, taking bitchy cat fights to a whole new level in the contact sport. Moving from behind the camera, Barrymore is one of the Hurl Scouts, Smashley Simpson, which she plays to a stoner-comic hilt. Barrymore blurs the line between director and actress as she subjects herself to the same brutal stunts that she subjects her cast to, and it looks like she is having a great time doing it
Whip It features some serious stunts, as well as superb skating by the ladies of the film who jump, block, and check each other like seasoned rugby players. The action and excitement of the sport come through the screen. Barrymore makes the rules of roller derby easy to understand which a great benefit to the film is as it’s easy to get in on the action and understand the rules of the game. And it’s the roller derby scenes that help break the film out of its conventional mold. It is a shame that the rest of the movie doesn’t quite reach the levels of excitement and interest that the derby sequences ignite. The film is also not as funny as one might expect with the likes of Wiig and Fallon in the cast, and perhaps this is also one of the reasons the film suffers some. The laughs that are in the film, are too few and far between, and never amount to more than a slight chuckle.
All told, Whip It is a solidly entertaining film, it just isn’t groundbreaking cinema. Barrymore delivered a well packaged film for her first effort behind the camera, and hopefully, this won’t be her last.
A chick flick with wheels, Whip It tells the tale of misfit Bliss (Ellen Page), trying to find a place to fit in, in her suburban Texas town. Not one for the beauty pageants her former beauty queen mother (Marcia Gay Harden) has her competing in, Bliss is turned on to the world of bad ass chicks of the roller derby circuit. With more grrrl power than pageants can offer, the Hurl Scouts derby team has Bliss enamored with the sport and the ladies themselves. Lying about her age, Bliss makes the team and enters the world of over-21 derby, balancing her boring home life with her wild nights on the skating track as Babe Ruthless.
Triple threat actress, producer, director Barrymore, is impossibly hard not to like, especially after hearing her speak at the film’s world premiere. She is genuinely grateful and excited to unleash Whip It on the world. Unfortunately, Whip It never rises to the challenge, though that’s not due to her directing skills, but rather to a ho-hum plot. The film’s not bad by any means, but it’s just not that great either. Based on the novel Derby Girl by Shauna Cross, Whip It has a solid block of material to work with, but the problem is that the film stops short on actually taking off beyond the usual problems teen girls face in movies: the cheating boyfriend, best friend issues, career path choices, and maternal bonding. Just this time, it’s all done on wheels. Without this unique angle, the storyline is simply your run-of-the-mill after school special about finding one’s identity and all that comes with being 17 years old.
The roller derby scenes are expertly directed and feature so much speed and action, I am sure the Toronto Roller Derby League is going to have dozens of new converts to the sport each with a feisty skater name. With an all-star ensemble cast featuring Ellen Page, Juliette Lewis, rapper Eve, Daniel Stern, Marcia Gay Harden, Alia Shawkat, Kristen Wiig, Jimmy Fallon, and Barrymore herself, Whip It’s best scenes take place on the roller skating track.
Ellen Page’s character Bliss- or Babe Ruthless if she’s on the track- isn’t too far removed from Juno, but with a lot less sass, and ultimately less annoying. Page however, is a great actress, which is one of the main reasons Whip It is endearing and entertaining. Page is so believable as teenage Bliss as the character’s complex emotions are conveyed so simply in her facial expression.
The breakout star of Whip It would have to be “Saturday Night Live” comedienne Kristen Wiig, who moves away from comedy and plays one of the straightest characters in the film, Malice in Wonderland. Wiig gets a chance to shine outside of farces like The Brothers Solomon in a leading role which she deftly handles with as much grace and charm one could have on roller skates. Juliette Lewis as Dinah Might is a formidable foe for the Hurl Scouts, taking bitchy cat fights to a whole new level in the contact sport. Moving from behind the camera, Barrymore is one of the Hurl Scouts, Smashley Simpson, which she plays to a stoner-comic hilt. Barrymore blurs the line between director and actress as she subjects herself to the same brutal stunts that she subjects her cast to, and it looks like she is having a great time doing it
Whip It features some serious stunts, as well as superb skating by the ladies of the film who jump, block, and check each other like seasoned rugby players. The action and excitement of the sport come through the screen. Barrymore makes the rules of roller derby easy to understand which a great benefit to the film is as it’s easy to get in on the action and understand the rules of the game. And it’s the roller derby scenes that help break the film out of its conventional mold. It is a shame that the rest of the movie doesn’t quite reach the levels of excitement and interest that the derby sequences ignite. The film is also not as funny as one might expect with the likes of Wiig and Fallon in the cast, and perhaps this is also one of the reasons the film suffers some. The laughs that are in the film, are too few and far between, and never amount to more than a slight chuckle.
All told, Whip It is a solidly entertaining film, it just isn’t groundbreaking cinema. Barrymore delivered a well packaged film for her first effort behind the camera, and hopefully, this won’t be her last.
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