Drenching itself in ‘70s and ‘80s stylings merely reinforces
the fact that Whip It has been seen a
hundred times before in slightly altered incarnations. Still, as a saga of
rebellious youth achieving self-actualization, Drew Barrymore’s maiden
behind-the-camera effort could be far worse, excessively prolonging its tale
but injecting it with enough vivacious you-go-girl energy to help make up for
the sense of familiarity. In tiny Bodeen, Texas, outcast teen Bliss (Ellen
Page) is stuck participating in pageants at the behest of her living-vicariously
mother (Marcia Gay Harden) until she stumbles upon an Austin-based roller derby
league populated by tattooed outsiders and immediately falls in love. Covertly
joining the team (dubbed the Hurl Scouts) behind both the backs of Mom and non-confrontational
Dad (Daniel Stern), Bliss discovers her true self. Hers is a tale of
individuality found and embraced that, predictably, is complicated by her
parents eventually discovering her ruse, her new rocker-dreamboat boyfriend
(Landon Pigg) turning out to be less than he initially seemed, and her loyal
best friend (Alia Shawkat) suffering for Bliss’ own selfish goals. Whip It’s plot adheres so smoothly to
its formulaic structure that it barely makes an impact, and Barrymore’s
direction can occasionally go a tad slack in the editorial-pacing department.
Yet between the soundtrack’s sweet rock cuts, a cast (including Kristen Wiig,
Juliette Lewis, Jimmy Fallon and Barrymore) that imbues sketchy roles with
lighthearted joviality, and a performance by Page free of Juno-esque quirk, the film has verve to spare, not to mention a
message – namely, that fighting (of the literal and figurative kind) is always
preferable to conformist pageantry – refreshingly delivered with more blood and
sweat than tears.
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