Whip It

Silvercity and Wellington 8

Directed by Drew Barrymore

Starring Ellen Page, Marcia Gay Harden, Julliette Lewis, Kristen Wiig

****/4

Whip It is the new film by Drew Barrymore about a teenage girl who chooses to leave behind the world of beauty pageants for the excitement of roller derby. If you aren’t part of roller derby, Whip It might be the first time you’ve been introduced to the sport. The film does a good job of explaining the basic rules and showcasing the game so that everyone can understand, not just die-hard fans. But what is surprising is how much of this movie is not about roller derby. It’s a real coming-of-age story.

Bliss Cavendar, played by Canadian Ellen Page, is a small town girl who wants to get more out of life. With her best friend Pash, played by Alia Shawkat from Arrested Development, she goes to see a roller derby game in Austin, Texas and decides to try out for the sport. When she makes the cut, she has to keep her new passion a secret from her ultra-conservative mom, played by Marcia Gay Harden. Ellen Page holds her own with Harden’s powerhouse acting on the screen, and her banter with Shawkat is hilarious. In one of my favourite moments they sing together at the Oink Joint – the diner where they both work – to Dolly Parton’s Jolene, and the song has been stuck in my head ever since. You can see a lot of coming-of-age movies in this one, like Mystic Pizza and Lucas. And like Lucas, where football is the focus, sport plays a major part here.

Roller derby is a tough game, and its challenges can be seen in the work each actress did to perform her own stunts. Team members, played by Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore, Zoe Bell and rapper Eve were a vibrant ensemble, and Juliette Lewis as the villain stole the show.

It would have been nice to see more derby action in this film. However, this was also a teen movie. In that regard it was strong, but lacked a Duckie character, if you catch my reference to Pretty in Pink. But the story was heartwarming enough to overlook those small flaws. Even with all the hype, Whip It surpassed my expectations and I’ll definitely recommend it to people who are interested in a great teen story, and who want to learn about my favourite sport. And I’ll probably pay admission to see it on the big screen again.

Vanessa Brown is a freelance writer and derby girl who moonlights under the moniker Vansterdamn #XXX.