Review of Whip It (2009) by Lesley F — 05 Nov 2010

The Hipster generation has to be one of the most annoying generations on the planet! They are so consumed with the fact that they are more intelligent than most people, that they are more artistict, and they have better taste all in all. What am I getting with this? Well Whip It comes from the Hipster genre that constantly plays Melancholy music and have the same old Cliches in every movie(i.e.-Juno). But Whip It is something completely different, a new take on the already tiring genre.

Plot- The story centers around Bliss(Ellen Page), a girl who indifferentiates herself in her home town of Bodeen,Texas. Her Mother(Marcia Gay Harden) is a conservative who guides her in life by signing her up in beauty pagents. Bliss and her mom go shoe shopping one day and notice that there is a pamphelet for roller derby. Bliss asks her friend Pash(the very talented Alia Shawkat from Arrested Development) to drive her to Austin so they can watch the female courtet of death. Bliss becomes so in love with the sport that Maggie Mayhem(Kristen Wigg, who I find hot in this film) allows her to join, as long as she's 21(but shes only 17!!!), so Bliss tells Maggie that she's 22(makes it less conspicious), and tries out. During the try outs she meets the evil Iron Maven(Juliette Lewis), who constantly calls her a kiss ass, and wants to beat the living crap out of Bliss. So Bliss don's the name Babe Ruthless and tries hard to make sure she isnt killed on the derby rink, but to make sure her mother doesnt find out about her derby skills she is gonna have to lie just to compete in the sport that she loves so much.

Problems- My main problem was that it was hard to concentrate on some of the derby scenes. They were entertaining, but it can be hard to follow, especially the first three derby scenes.

What I liked about the film- It had a clever script, I could not be bored with any of the scenes, it was like if was an awe inspiring moment for me since im not a fan of sports films(to tell the truth, they are more annoying than the Hipster genre). The film was able to clear of all the cliches, it may have had many cliches, but I didnt care for them because the film easily fixed them. I loved that women were the main sports characters for this film, specifically since the sports genre are filled with films that are about courage, brothehood, and racsism.

Acting- I dont usually take acting as the biggest thing about films as most people do, acting only takes up about 10% of my rating scale. But this film aquires that full 10%, I think everyone does a great job and im shocked that this film didnt get any nominations for best ensemble cast.

Cinematography- The cinematography was my biggest problem as I stated, which is strange becuase the cinematographer was Robert Yeoman who has actually done alot of great success with his style.

Direction- This is the first time Drew Barrymoore has directed a film, and it clearly shows her talent. I hope she can do more films cause im excited about what she can do.

Overall this is a very intellegent comedy that easily outshines Juno and is one of the best sports movies I have ever seen.

I give it 4/5 stars.