ROCK 'EM SOCK 'EM: a review of "Whip It"

“WHIP IT” Directed by Drew Barrymore
*** (three stars)

Never did I ever, ever, ever expect to read the following four words on any movie I would ever had seen within my life time: "Directed by Drew Barrymore." I have a hefty, knee-jerk aversion towards Ms. Barrymore. I think that she is a Hollywood celebrity that just got lucky by coasting so very long on the legacy of her famous family. While she has never derailed any movie I have seen her in, I have never been charmed by her extreme bubbly nature, her faux insouciance, her cloying sexiness and for God’s sakes, she has got to stop lisping like Cindy Brady! I always feel that despite her adult age, she is always performing dress-up in front of a mirror and the effect is irritating to a teeth-gnashing degree. Frankly, I still think that her best acting performance arrived at the age of six when she was featured in Spielberg's “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial.” It’s so hard to peak at such a young age. (I apologize for the uncharacteristic snark, but I couldn’t help myself.)

Her career as a Producer felt even worse as her adaptation of “Charlie’s Angels” (2000) was movie-star ego run dangerously amok as it was less of a movie and more of a slumber party she filmed at the complete expense of the audience. It was definitely one of the very worst movie-going experiences I had in the last decade. When the inevitable prospect of Barrymore becoming a Director arose, I shuddered and I thought it would essentially be a project for Barrymore to again play dress-up, this time behind the camera. Well, dear readers, I will always give credit where credit is due and I have to say that “Whip It,” Drew Barrymore’s warm and energetic directorial debut, happily surprised me.

Ellen Page completely fulfills the promise made in her last major starring role in “Juno” with another winning, fully drawn, and completely engaging performance of a teenage girl arriving at a personal crossroads. This time, Page stars as Bliss Cavendar (another improbably named character), a 17-year-old trapped in her restless small town misery of Bodeen, Texas. In addition to suffering the standard high school ennui, Bliss spends her hours as a waitress at a local restaurant and also witheringly as her mail carrier Mother’s (Marcia Gay Harden) eternal project as a beauty pageant contestant. Bliss is desperate to escape her small town trappings and the film opens with her rebellious streak seeping outwards through an act of beauty pageant self-sabotage. Then, one day, on a family shopping trip to Austin, Texas, Bliss’ life is profoundly altered when she captures the seemingly heaven sent vision of Roller Derby skaters—who appear as modern day Amazons and unlike anything that could even be conceptualized in Bodeen. Bliss picks up a Roller Derby flyer, convinces her best friend Pash (Alia Shawkat) to check out one match with her and by the end, Bliss is hooked.

Bliss then lies about her age and tries out for the perpetually losing squadron, the Hurl Scouts. The rag-tag members include Maggie Mayhem (nicely underplayed by SNL’s masterful Kristen Wiig), Rosa Sparks (rapper Eve), Bloody Holly (stunt woman Zoe Bell), Smashley Simpson (Barrymore, who wisely gave herself a small role) and coached by the grumpy Razor (an effective Andrew Wilson-brother of Owen and Luke). Bliss, of course, makes the team, re-names herself “Babe Ruthless,” and spends two nights of her week, secretly shuttling back and forth on the elderly occupied Bingo Bus to her personal Mecca of Austin to compete with her newfound tribe against all manner of Roller Derby foes, most notably the caustic, prickly Iron Maven (a great Juliette Lewis). And she even has time to strike up a romance with Oliver (Lando Pigg), a guitarist of an indie-rock band, to boot.

Yet, spreading her wings so widely and quickly (and combined with that rebellious nature) does have it share of consequences. Many conflicts do arise for Bliss as she certainly worries what will happen once her parents discover her true whereabouts and activities and the Hurl Scouts uncover her real age. On a deeper level, Bliss struggles with the questions of parental expectations vs. her personal desires, and living a life through someone else’s plans for her rather than allowing herself the risks of seeing her dreams take flight.

In past reviews, I have often decried the lack of originality when it comes to today’s Hollywood cinema as well as a certain level of laziness in the presentation. That said, I will say that when I go to a movie, all I really want, more than anything in the world is to just be told a story as best as it can possibly be told—and that includes movies that adhere to a certain formula. “Whip It” is pure formula. There are no real surprises. You can guess the obstacles and outcomes easily and certain conclusions are blindingly apparent. The victories and heartaches all occur when you would expect them to. But, what makes this film succeed and what Barrymore has done so effectively is to play down the formula and allow the screenplay, story and characters (very well written by Shauna Cross and based upon her novel) to breathe and unfold naturally. All of the film's big moments are not telegraphed to the audience nor are they presented in gigantic neon signs, instructing viewers how to feel. Barrymore's entire cast allows these characters to exist as real people with real desires living in a real world. Most impressive are the tensions, confrontations and reconciliations between Mother and daughter as nothing is ever forced or allowed to slide into melodrama and one scene late in the film, as the two sit and talk on their kitchen floor, possesses a quiet beauty.

Barrymore’s life on movie sets has served her extremely well and she has obviously tapped into the great connections she has made over the years by recruiting a fine cast and stellar crew, from top to bottom, to bring this story to vivid life. The performances are uniformly strong. The Roller Derby sequences are well paced, gloriously shot, edited, and always makes the viewer feel that they gliding along with the Hurl Scouts or right in the middle of the action without that “Bourne Identity” shaky-cam. The wall-to-wall soundtrack of classic rock, punk, alternative and hip-hop lovingly served as sonic wallpaper, always present to push scenes along, comment on the action or just envelop the film in a inviting communal bond.

Mostly, for a film is set in the 21st century, here is once again a film that looks and feels as if it could’ve been made in the 1970’s, arguably Hollywood’s last “Golden Age” where even formula pictures could become high artistic triumphs. While “Whip It” may not be scale those heights entirely, due to some forced humor here and there (a food fight sequence, for instance, is just unfortunate), Drew Barrymore provided me with a movie and a leading character I could truly empathize with. Beyond that, it was obvious, as I watched the proceedings, that Barrymore really desired to not allow any movie star ego into the mix. I believe that she really wanted to gain credibility and that she honestly wanted to perform a good job with a task that either so many have failed at on their first attempt or was used as an extension of vanity. The work and the love contained within the work is all over the screen and once the end credits began, I was indeed won over by its charm and skill.

I have to say that I am quite surprised with the film’s weak box office reception last fall. In addition to Barrymore’s continued popularity, the film seems to be the perfect combination of a personal story with a tale of female empowerment that could appeal greatly to teenage girls. Thanks to DVD, perhaps “Whip It” will find a considerably larger audience that will embrace it…and it truly deserves to find that audience.

As for Ms. Barrymore, she still irritates me to no end but maybe she can leave acting behind and become a Director full-time. Based on this film, I think she could have a shot at a really impressive career.