Review of Whip It (2009) by John P — 17 Nov 2013

So I guess when a problem comes along Ellen Page's path she just whips it and whips it good. The Countdown to 200 continues as I review more movies that I have put off until now and Whip It just so happens to be the next one on my chopping block. "Why" you may ask? There are many reasons; one of which is that over the last couple of years I have noticed somewhat of a resurgence in Ellen Page's career popping up in recent films, commercials, and making a big hit in the video game Beyond Two Souls, which I already played and love so much. Another reason is that it has been a while since I reviewed a sports movie that revolved around a lot of punches and beat downs, so I also had that to look forward to. So without further delay, let's roll right into this review.

This movie follows the fairly decent tropes of any coming-of-age film by delivering a nice little B-movie shot in the heart land of Texas. Ellen Page does an amazing job with her character along some superb dialogue that she shares with Marcia Gay Harden. It is interesting to see these two have these serious conversations that they had in this mother/daughter relationship. However, it is too bad that I cannot say the same for everyone in this movie. Drew Barrymore may have done a pretty good job as a director, but her acting in this made her look like a mentally challenged kid. I did not like Juliette Lewis' role as the antagonist because she didn't seem that very antagonizing. Like halfway through the movie, she discovers Ellen Page's had a secret and decides to blackmail her by telling her not show up in the championship. But when Ellen's character decides to play anyway, Juliette Lewis says something like "Oh I wasn't gonna nark on you. I just wanted to see if you had the balls to show up." I was literally staring at the TV, with arms thrown up, and said "REALLY?" There were also some scenes in this film where I thought they should have been cut out but someone in the editing room didn't pay that much attention. Like Jimmy Fallon near the end of the movie where after he gives his ending speech as the announcer, they show two separate scenes where he throws up a sign that says "I'm STD free" followed by these jumping pushups that made no damn sense. The roller derby matches in this movie were alright and some the plays they had were really interesting, especially from Andrew Wilson who really got into each game. Overall, it is a nice little chick-flick of a comedy that really delivers a solid kick to the nuts. If they would have changed a few things, here and there, it may have been a little bit better. This is why I am going to give this a solid three star rating.