Review

Review Date: 4-October-09
Spoiler Rating: Low
Juju Judgment: Just OK

Whip It (2009)

If I were a first-time director I would opt for a time-tested tale that allowed me to express some personal flair while giving me a good chance of scoring a hit. So it makes sense to me that Drew Barrymore chose Whip It as her directorial debut. The movie concerns a likable nobody who finds herself by following her passion, which happens to be the rock 'em, sock 'em sport of roller derby. A good flick resides within this premise, but unfortunately Barrymore does not draw it out. The challenges in Whip It feel jumbled and confused so the emotions are focused in the wrong places.

The one good thing about Whip It is that star Ellen Page, no doubt inspired by Barrymore's native gusto, abandons the blasé attitude which was threatening to engulf her persona. She reveals previously untapped enthusiasm when her character, Bliss Cavendar, comes alive after discovering roller derby. Before then Bliss is a misfit high school student stuck in a dull Texas town and forced to endure the beauty pageant circuit by her mother (Marcia Gay Harden). (Too bad Page didn't stretch so far as to brave a southern accent.) After becoming "Babe Ruthless," rising star of the underdog team the Hurl Scouts, she blossoms into someone who knows not only what doesn't fulfill her but what makes her truly happy.

One of the things that makes Bliss happy is a grungy musician played by newcomer Landon Pigg. (Such an unfortunate name!) Their romance eats up a chunk of time but accomplishes nothing and holds no relevance to the rest of the picture. This is a good example of the sloppiness of Whip It, where diversions blur the clean lines of the little-person-makes-good message. If I enjoyed Bliss' relationship with her best friend (Alia Shawkat), coach (Andrew Wilson), and father (Daniel Stern), it was because I like the actors in these roles. (Actually the coach is the best-written character, both unique and individual.) Sure, we want to see Bliss grow by loving and being loved. But in a movie about roller derby this should happen on the track, the result of her working with a team, reaching within herself, striving for victory, and elbowing other chicks in the face.

Copyright © 2009 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.