Whip It (2009) ****

Now let's be honest: does anyone out there actually remember roller derby? If you had old school ESPN twenty to twenty-five years ago it was paired up with AWA wrestling. From ESPN it died a mainstream death like British Knights and Menudo. So it was with some nostalgia that I watched Whip It, the directorial debut by Drew Barrymore.

Bliss (Ellen Page) is your typical Texas teenager that's being promoted as the next Laura Bush by her neurotic mother (Marcia Gay Harden). Bliss is lost in the identity that her mother has carved out for her and continually needs an outlet. One night, having snuck away to the big city of Austin, she is introduced to roller derby. And she loves it. But the question is how will this world of kicking ass and psychotic names (hers is "Babe Ruthless") interact with the fantasy world she doesn't want at home.

This film has a definite Slap Shot feel to it, not because of the violence but because of the underdog story attached to it. Bliss is an underdog because of inexperience and being under the thumb of her mother. The team is an underdog because they haven't won a thing for years (they're called the "Hurl Scouts" while derbying in girl scout uniforms).

As previously stated this is Drew Barrymore's directorial debut and it's a little rough. You can see some of the first time director mistakes that can occur in that first film, but we really can't complain too much. Beyond that she puts together a nice film with few flaws. We can rip on flow and being technical, but another actor started with a film that was good, yet a little choppy and he ended up with two Oscars (Mr. Eastwood). Not that I'm comparing.

So, even though poor Jimmy Fallon is in this, Whip It is one of those coming of age stories without all the sentimental crap. It's not sugar coated, fights when consumed, but it's a hell of an enjoyable movie.