Whip It

Drew Barrymore has perfected the slapstick persona in her films over the years, and its no surprise to find her in a film about roller derby being on the end of stray elbows, sly punches and undertaking general pratfalls. What is surprising is that Barrymore is the director of said film. Adapted from the novel Derby Girl by roller derby athlete Shauna Cross (who takes screenwriting duties here), Whip It tells the story of Bliss (Ellen Page), a teenager from a one horse Texan town who finds excitement in the sport of roller derby in nearby Austin. As Page is the main character in this little gem, there have been lazy comparisons with Juno. I’d say though that the characters here are a lot more believable and this film doesn’t suffer from the underlying smugness of that effort. What we do have though is a lot of fun as Bliss becomes a roller derby hero in Austin whilst trying to keep her new found fame secret from her parents (superbly played by Marcia Gay Harden and Daniel Stern). The dialogue is smart enough without being eye-rolling and the scenes of drama are well acted by all involved. On the down side, as this is a coming of age tale a number of scenes will be over familiar and a romantic sub-plot slows things down to a crawl at times. Barrymore gets decent performances from all involved (taking a back seat in effect, as her part is only a minor one) and the actual roller derby contests are directed at a frenetic pace. Additionally, at the roller derby itself, ring announcer Jimmy Fallon and Bliss’s manager Andrew Wilson provide a number of laughs. Overall, this film is more fun than not, and much like the world of roller derby, isn’t that the idea in the first place?

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Despite its standard teenage storyline, the original setting and Barrymore’s nice direction means this is a step up from your average indie. Rating:7/10.