Whip It!

Viewer Rating:MicealJ has rated Whip It! rating: 2 Star

Despite being part of the Hollywood Film Industry for nearly 30 years this is Drew barrymore's first outing as a director. And much like other stars who go behind the camera her debut is a fairly light confection. "Whip It" tells the story of an all-girl Roller Derby with Ellen Page as Bliss, a smalltown girl who becomes fascinated by it all and lies about her age so she can join the "Hurl Scouts" team. Roller Derby involves hurtling around a circular track doing your best to knock everyone on the other team off it. This gives Barrymore the oppurtunity to fill the film with long rowdy sequences of skaters racing past to a pumping soundtrack by Phantom FM. Every Indie legend is in here Radiohead; MGMT; The Go Team - The Breeders appear twice. In fact there is so much music to be heard you may end up distracted from the plot of the film as you try and remember just who that band is. This is not necessarily a problem as the plot is so hugely formulaic that you can dip in and out of it easily without losing track. Bliss not only lies about her age to her team-mates (She's 17 but claims to be 22 - which Ellen Page actually is so you can see why they'd be fooled) she lies to her parents about where she's going at night claiming to be studying or working - they're easily fooled too. Inevitably her main rival from another team (played by Juliette Lewis - the Ellen Page of the '90s) finds out and thretens to expose her. All very simple and predictable but having said that it passes the time pleasently enough. If viewed with the realisation that the film is geared almost entirely towards American teenagers (and probably teenage girls at that) this is still an enjoyable hour and a half or so and Drew Barrymore acquits herself well - and besides there is that killer soundtrack.

Review published on the 27 February 2010 21:18