Whip It Good!

I went to see Whip It this past weekend, and I have to say it was a most enjoyable night out at the movies. I am an unabashed Ellen Page fan (I've rattled on at length about her elsewhere in this blog), and I'm also a big fan of Drew Barrymore, so this was a combination I had to see for myself. I was also eager to see the results of Drew's first stint in the director's chair.

I'll say right off the top that the movie was big fun. The casting was near perfect, and the sheer jubilant energy of the film was infectious. This was a great ride, and I buckled up and let it sweep me away.

There was a bit of "formula" lurking around the edges of the film, but not so much that it detracted from my enjoyment of it. The main premise is a bit typical: Our protagonist (Ellen Page as Bliss Cavendar) discovers a heretofore unknown passion (roller derby), which of course is frowned upon by her nearest and dearest (her parents). It's also an "underdog" story, in that Bliss is a newcomer to the sport and the team she joins is the worst in the league. I will give Barrymore and team kudos, however, in that they did depart from cliché at a couple of crucial spots and made what could have been true formula into more of a concoction.

Ellen Page loves the camera, and the camera loves Ellen Page. We're all just going to have to settle down and face this as simple fact. She has no bad angles, and she knows how to work a scene. She's absolutely brilliant, as she has been without exception so far in her young career, and if she ever does make a dud, we're all going keel over so fast and hard we won't know what hit us. I can't say enough about this amazing young actress, and I'm certainly not going to miss any of her future films.

Drew Barrymore was smart in giving herself a comparatively small on-screen role in her directorial debut. I think if she'd given herself a larger role, the whole thing would have smacked of hubris. Drew's not like that, fortunately, but on the other hand I'm glad she dove in there and didn't stay behind the scenes. I think she struck just the right balance, and her onscreen scenes were really a lot of fun.

The rest of the cast was equally fabulous. Marcia Gay Harden as Bliss's mom was beautifully bitter. She had just enough of the former beauty queen in her to make her postal worker uniform look completely out of place and a bit pathetic on her. Her hopes for living vicariously through her daughter were almost palpable.

Daniel Stern as Bliss's dad was a delight to behold. All through the film, I was thinking "I know that guy from somewhere…", and when the end credits rolled, I nearly smacked myself on the head. It's been so long since I've seen him in anything that I didn't recognize him. His performance as the quiet dad who really knows what's going on in spite of appearances was funny and, at times, poignant.

Likewise with Juliette Lewis as Bliss's main antagonist. It took me a good three-quarters of the film to finally remember that she was the teenage daughter in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (a film I watch every year without fail). She has, of course, been in many other films along the way, but she will always be Audrey Griswold to me. Anyway, she played tough and mean really well, but she didn't take it to the extreme and make a caricature out of it. She was simply a driven woman who had found her place in the world and was determined to hang onto it at all cost.

Another stand-out performance for me was by Kristen Wiig, whose character was pretty much the den mother of Bliss's team. If she wasn't the oldest of the group, she was certainly the most mature, and her softer edges provided a nice contrast to the rest of the team. She possessed a wisdom and serenity that belied her after-hours roller-mama lifestyle.

And guess what? There's another Wilson brother! If Owen and Luke weren't enough for you, here's Andrew Wilson to complete the set. In his role as Razor, the coach of the worst team in the league, he brings a sort of resigned world-weariness to the proceedings, and he gets some really great lines.

And I would be remiss if I didn't mention Jimmy Fallon as "Hot Tub" Johnny Rocket, the MC of the roller derby matches. It's a testament to Fallon's acting skills that I didn't recognize him immediately. Or maybe it was the facial hair. Regardless, he was funny and pathetic and perfect in the role.

The roller derby scenes in Whip It were initially kind of scary, but as the film progressed, I have to confess I kind of got into it. I knew very little about the sport, despite having caught snippets of it while channel surfing back in the day, but this film actually took the time to give us the rules and explain how it works. And it managed to do so without spewing a lot of non-plot-related exposition. By the end of the film, I felt I knew roller derby a lot better. So, again, kudos to Drew Barrymore and crew for making this odd and violent sport a bit more accessible.

One of my favorite parts of the film was the nicknames the derby players used. Ellen Page's character, Bliss, eventually settled on Babe Ruthless for her moniker. Drew Barrymore's character was called Smashley Simpson; Juliette Lewis' character was Iron Maven; Kristen Wiig was Maggie Mayhem. Other notable nicknames were Rosa Sparks, Bloody Holly, Juana Beat'n, Jaba the Slut, and my personal favorite, Eva Destruction. And I think I actually heard an Alexis of Evil in there somehwere.

I think Drew Barrymore has gotten off to an auspicous directorial beginning. This was an un-self-conscious coming-of-age film that managed to tell a good story without getting overly sentimental or introspective. It also had some terrific characters and some great music.

I don't think it's going to win any Oscars, mind you, but I don't go to the movies looking for the next "Great Film". If I happen to see one, well, that's a bonus, but I go for the entertainment value, and Whip It gave me that in spades.

Mind the gap.

(Here's a little snippet of Drew Barrymore taking us behind the scenes.)