NEW Page/barrymore/harden - Whip It (Blu-ray)

It's not a bad movie but it's not great either. The acting is very good and Ellen Page is a star. I thought the beginning of the movie where the two high school girls discover roller derby and where Ellen hangs out and meets her future boyfriend at that house party rang so true in a "wonder of it all discovering life outside the boredom of Small Town America" type of way.

I got tired of the constant explaining of the "rules" of roller derby and the Jimmy Fallon (seriously, Jimmy Fallon?) arena-side announcing was just unnecessary.

The story follows the typical Hollywood script--girl meets roller derby, roller derby meets girl, girl meets boy, boy goes on tour with band, parents get angry she is secretly roller derby-ing, crying and anger ensue and in the end all is forgiven and everyone sees the light (bar the stereotypical sensitive alterna rock boyfriend).

Anyway, for what it is it's just OK. It could have been far better and in a way Kansas City Bomber with Raquel Welch is far superior (and I am being both literal and sarcastic on that note).

Extras? What extras? Just ads for the soundtrack and other movie trailers.
Get the soundtrack CD or download as any soundtrack with a Raveonettes tune in it gets the thumbs up from me.

Whip It is not a vanity piece for Drew Barrymore. Yes she directed and acted in it, but she's not in it all that much. Her character "Smashley Simpson" is there more for comedy relief. So if you're expecting a lot of Drew, check your expectations at the door.

This is a fantastic film about a misfit growing up in small-town Texas (Ellen Page) and finally finding something she enjoys and excels at. Her mother has been pushing her into beauty pageants since she was a kid but she never liked nor fit into that world. After disovering roller derby, she secretly sets out for Austin to try out, and to her own surprise, makes the team. But will her mother approve?

The members of that team, the Hurl Scouts, are anchored by Barrymore, Kristin Wiig as "Maggie Mayhem", and the always physical Zoe Bell as "Bloody Holly". Kristin Wiig in particular really shines in this movie. We always knew she was talented but here she gets to sink her teeth into the occassional dramatic scene as well. I was also pleased to see Daniel Stern in such a good role, and Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development) as the best friend.

Barrymore managed to make Whip It look like an anachronism. It's obviously the present day due to the presence of the internet and whatnot, but everything from the style, to the music, on down to Ellen Page's Stryper T-shirt makes the film look like pretty much any time period from the mid-80's on down. I thought that was a cool touch. The soundtrack to Whip It is quite good.

The only flaw with a movie like this is that there are only two possible outcomes: The team wins, or the team loses. I thought the ending was pretty good despite those limitations.

Check out Whip It if this sounds interesting to you. There's comedy, there's drama, there's plenty of hard slammin' action. 4 stars.

"Likable" could be seen as a lukewarm compliment for a film. "Cute" could
even be a backhanded pit-down. But this film is likable and cute in a very good way.

The story of an off-beat 17 year old, well played by Ellen Page, finding herself
by secretly joining the roller derby in Austin, Texas may be cliched on the surface,
but the lovely character detail and successfully offbeat casting make the film a quirky,
likable winner.

Not a great film, nor an "important" one, but one I enjoyed and was never bored by. And
at a time where most Hollywood "entertainment" centers around blowing stuff up, its nice
to see a mainstream film with rich characters and a big heart.