Movie summary of Whip It by Michael the Moviegoer.
WHIP IT = ***
“Hot Wheels”
Drew Barrymore sets the screen on fire with her directorial debut “Whip It”, a chick flick that’s loaded with testosterone. It’s set in the gritty world of women’s roller derby.
Ellen Page plays a girl on her way to winning a local school beauty pageant that will please only her mom. But when she discovers the roller derby, she becomes hell on wheels. Soon she’s sneaking out of the house every night to skate with her team the Hurl Scouts.
Along the way she discovers first-love and first-heartbreak. She has a falling out, then eventual reconciliation with her parents. If this movie plot seems overly familiar, it’s because it is. But Barrymore populates her cast with top-notch actors that make this a trip worth taking.
Marcia Gay Harden is cast as Page’s mother. In most other films, the mom-role would be treated as a throwaway. But Harden’s performance elevates it to a level that adds an unexpected dramatic touch.
Juliette Lewis is perfectly cast as bad-girl skater Iron Maven. Other colorful skater characters have names like Bloody Holly and Smashley Simpson. Page’s skater name is Babe Ruthless.
Alternately polished and edgy-looking, Barrymore’s filmmaking skills have obviously been influenced by her years in front of the camera. “Whip It” combines the sports tournament drama of “Lucky You” with the fast-paced action of “Charlie’s Angels”, both films that Barrymore starred in. Additionally Barrymore got directing notes from Steven Spielberg who saw a rough cut (and who also directed Barrymore when she was a child in “E.T.” back in 1982).
DVD Double Feature: Women’s roller derby isn’t a sport that has inspired a lot of movies. You have to go way back to 1972’s “Kansas City Bomber” to find another good one. Raquel Welch stars as a single mom in this gritty little-seen gem of a sports film. Jodie Foster plays her daughter. Unlike the all-star cast of “Whip It”, ‘Bomber’ casted some real-life players which adds to the authenticity of the action.
Michael The Moviegoer
