On Monday I talked a little bit about seeing a sneak preview of Whip It! last Saturday. I promised a review at some point. A review the never came. So, instead, you get this comic and I’ll kind of splice in portions of the review I was going to write here in the blog post.
I think I said on Monday that Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut has a certain level of enthusiasm that I think can be attributed by Barrymore’s usual rah-rah “Girl Power” mantra. Despite being a film about hard-nosed roller derby chicks, the film is optimistic and sunny.
Ellen Page as the film’s heroine is serviceable. Her character is a mousy beauty pageant competitor by day and a roller derby chick by night. Unfortunately, she doesn’t really fit into either of those roles very well.
To me she seems too sharp, her wit to acerbic, to be some mousy teen bullied into pageant life by an overbearing mother. Conversely, she doesn’t have the physical presence to skate around a rink and throw elbows.
The film explains away some of the later by acknowledging Page’s pocket-sized physique. Her roller derby alter-ego “Babe Ruthless” gets by on her speed and agility and less on her right hook.
Still, I think it would have been interesting to see someone like Kat Dennings in the role. Then I might have found the dichotomy between pageant queen and roller girl a little more believable.
As I mentioned in the comic, the cast for this film is amazing. Not just for the depth of the semi-recognizable names, but for the variety. In what other film are you going to see the stunt woman from Death Proof roller skate with the female rapper who was once First Lady of Ruff Ryders?
Gotta give points to the casting director for bringing Juliette Lewis into the mix. Sinewy, snide and possibly smelly, Lewis fits perfectly into the role of Page’s riot grrl nemesis.
Special acknowledgment, however, I think needs to be given to Kristen Wiig, who finally stepped out from behind the Nervous Nellie persona she’s perfected on Saturday Night Live and in supporting roles from films like Adventureland and Knocked Up.
Despite the eccentricity of being a roller derby competitor, Wiig plays her character like a normal, everyday person. At this point, playing someone normally was probably the most shocking thing she could do!
Story-wise, there’s nothing in Whip It! that you haven’t seen in a thousand other coming-of-age comedies. Basically, an awkward girl finds something she’s passionate about and comes out of her shell in opposition to her parents wishes. Do the parents come around at the end? Of course. Are valuable life lessons learned? You betcha.
But like I said, there’s a positive vibe reverberating off this movie and a certain zest of life to the characters. The live their lives on the fringe of society in an already liberal-minded alternate reality known as Austin, Texas. They skate in abandoned warehouses under pseudonyms, get drunk and listen to loud music. Their exploits are liberating and we, the audience, get to live vicariously through that.
That’s pretty much the role of any good movie. If you can watch the characters on screen and say “I wanna hang out with them,” or “I wanna do that,” then there has been some transformative effect that has allowed you to transcend whatever hang-ups or stress is waiting for you back in the real world. By that measure, Whip It! is a rollicking success.
So what about you? Any plans to hang out with Smashly Simpson and The Hurl Scouts this weekend? Does Whip It! look like a film that interests you? Did any of you manage to catch the sneak preview on Saturday? If so, what did you think? Leave your comments below!
That's why I saw a sneak preview of Whip It! last Saturday!
Really? What did you think!
I thought it was really funny!
And the cast was really impressive!
Ellen Page, ALia Shawkat, Marcia Gay Harden, Kristen Wiig, Zoe Bell, Eve, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis:
Of course, the roller derby element makes it unique...
It's basically the female equivalent of a zany sports comedy Will Ferrell didn't get to make!
I’d be keen on seeing it when it comes out in NZ. Sounds like something I’d enjoy
I have the day off tomorrow, and I’m heading to the theater with friends all day for Whip It, Toy Story 3D, Invention of Lying, then Zombieland! It’s the all day release day that this pathetic summer never provided. I just couldn’t decide between any of them!
I want to because I love Ellen Page. I don’t want to because I don’t like Drew Barrymore in the least. I find her so annoying that it almost completely eclipses my love for Ms. Page.
Barrymore the actress is barely in Whip It! She’s more like an extra in the film. I think she maybe has three lines.
But you feel Barrymore presence in spirit. Like I said, the film is very sunny and upbeat. It actually off-sets the idiosyncrasies of the derby girls quite nicely (because many of them are notorious for making bad choices).
If this movie had Kat Dennings in it then I would have bought out a whole showing because she’s awesome. I wanted to like Ellen Page but her film choices have kind of painted her into this corner of coming off as the girl who you knew in high school but wasn’t friends with her because she was stuck up and kind of a witch. Drew Barrymore is awesome though. My niece want’s to see this but since I found out about the $1.50 movie theater we rarely see anything when it first comes out. Just doesn’t make sense unless it’s something I’d REALLY like to see…like Kat Dennings in this movie.
I half kind of want to see this movie but I think I would rather see the Invention of Lying and maybe catch this on TV.
Side topic: I saw Zombieland last night, it’s a very good horror comedy (with emphasis on the horror). The plot was as good as could be expected in a movie like this, don’t go in expecting brilliant dialogue or anything life changing.
The gore factor was pretty up there but it looked realistic and not over the top like some movies do. If your squeamish about gore though there are some scenes that are graphic.
Woody Harrelson did an amazing job, he’s perfected the Mid West Bumpkin thing and his presence really carries the movie.
Jesse Eisenberg is completly interchangable with Michael Cera in the whole nervous, whiny 20 something male category. Not a spectacular performance but beliveable.
Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin did an ok job with the material they were given but nothing spectacular on their parts.
All in all I would say an 8/10 – Good movie, good laughs held back by the story
If it was Kat Dennings, I’d be in the theater for the next two weeks. But Ellen Page is nice too.
They filmed this movie around the Ann Arbor and Detroit area, and I was told that Drew and Eve stopped into my favorite pub frequently (of course on nights that I don’t go). Friends showed me pictures to prove it. My bartender friend said that they were really nice and tipped well, and didn’t expect any kind of special treatment – they just wanted to drink and dance.
I’ve been to a roller derby event before, and it was a lot of fun. Very exciting and fast paced. I’m looking forward to the movie.
My interest in Whip It! is about as low as can be, so I don’t think I’ll be seeing it.
I did see Zombieland last night, which was quite good. Plenty of very funny moments, and dig the characters.
I remember roller derby from the ’70s and I was not interested then. I live in Portland now which has a roller derby “scene” and I am not that impressed with it now.
Saw “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” this weekend (in 3D). Excellent film – not in any Citizen Kane way, but it’s nicely zany, funny, and pretty much fully supported my suspension of belief for a couple hours.
It appears that Sony Imageworks has a handle on the 3D stuff since it actually works without being totally in-your-face intrusive.
Saw Zombieland over the weekend with my hubby and we loved it. I haven’t laughed so hard in a long time.
FYI… Stay through the credits, there is a nice little easter egg!
Have not seen this film yet but, I am looking forward to it. I LOL when I saw the trailer and Ellen Paiges character was wearing a “Stryper” t-shirt. A little Google search shows that band is actualy touring and has a new CD out. Who knew? Ha Ha.
Under normal circumstances I would have thought that Ellen Page has a really annoying way about her, but she actually did a great job in this movie; all around Whip It rocked.