'Whip It' charms with cast; Barrymore at the helm UTM Pacer
This review should have been printed months ago, but considering that Martin's Cine 6 Theater doesn't always show every film that's released, I decided to wait until Whip It came out on DVD.
Whip It, a dramedy featuring an all-star "funny fatale" cast, is also the directorial debut of Drew Barrymore. Debuting at the Toronto film festival last fall, it received high praise for both its cast and director and was nominated for the Bronze Horse award.
In a nutshell, it is another coming-of-age film, following young Bliss Cavender's (Juno's Ellen Page) journey from small-town nobody to a roller derby somebody.
In typical Page fashion, Bliss is an Indie music-loving teen with a witty vocabulary and a misfit wardrobe to match. Clad in a pig-decaled apron, she works with her friend as a waitress with dreams of escaping the small-town rut. Rather than succumbing to the pageant princess lifestyle her mother has chosen for her, Bliss opts for the rough and tough rumbling world of roller derby.
As her skating alter ego Babe Ruthless rises to fame, her personal life's conflicts rise to a head.
The clichés are there. Sneaking out, first love and of course Mom finding out just before the big match. Nevertheless, Whip It's supporting cast, which includes Barrymore, Juliette Lewis, Eve, and Saturday Night Live's Jimmy Fallon and Kristen Wiig, offer enough comedic quirk to keep audiences from getting bored.
Barrymore's role is perhaps my favorite, despite her lack of lines. She spends the majority of the film
