Drew Barrymore is an immensely likable actress who often makes up for a not particularly wide range with an overabundance of heart and genuine sweetness that is generally missing from most Hollywood stars. She has also proven herself to be a savvy producer over the past number of years; her company, Flower Films, most famously introduced the world to the mindbending Donnie Darko, as well as the charming Never Been Kissed. Who could have guessed, however, that she would also prove herself to be such a fantastic director? Whip It, her first effort, is clearly a labor of love that manages to capture her kindness, her vitality, and even a wicked sense of humor.
There has most likely never been a film quite like Whip It. It is full of hilarious moments, but it isn’t quite a comedy. It has dramatic moments, but it isn’t quite a drama. It features a young couple that engages in at least one lushly romantic scene, but it isn’t a love story–at least not between two people. It centers around the ultra-violent sport of roller derby, with whom the lead character is truly in love, but it doesn’t feel quite right to call it a sports film, either, though that might be more due to the fact that it ably skates past most of the cliches of the genre with nary a bruise.
Clark Kent is a reporter by day and the Man of Steel by night; Bruce Wayne is a careless, billionaire playboy by day and the Batman by night. Similarly, by day, the girls who make up roller derby teams such as the Hurl Scouts and the Holy Rollers are waitresses, nurses, and other mundane professions. By night, however, they are superstar goddesses who glide on air and slam into one another with the ferocity of storms–goddesses with names such as Rosa Sparks, Maggie Mayhem, Eva Destruction, Smashley Simpson (non-intrusively and delightfully played by Barrymore herself), and Iron Maven (Juliette Lewis). Barrymore presents these women as tough and unyielding, but also as a family unit whose members care for one another and truly have each other’s backs.
This is why it provides such a powerful emotional outlet for the lead character, Bliss, played with beautiful verisimilitude of spirit by Juno‘s Ellen Page. Roller derby allows her to briefly escape from her overbearing mother, the unbearable beauty pageants in which she forces her to compete, and the stifling small town in Texas in which they live. It is no wonder that, during her tryouts, she is able to skate faster than any of the other newcomers. Symbolically, she is desperately trying to run away. And thus the meek Bliss Cavendar gradually transforms into the one and only Babe Ruthless. Roller derby provides her with a new family unit that understands her and treats her as an equal, and also with a means of acting out her aggression in an appropriate environment.
Audience members aware of Drew Barrymore’s history can read quite a bit of her own life into the story of Whip It. One can imagine that she responded quite a great deal to its highly literate script’s concept of a young girl escaping from the life her family set out for her, not to mention the portrayal of the adversarial relationship between Bliss and her mother, Brooke (Marcia Gay Harden, in a typically stunning performance). What might be most impressive, however, is that despite the bad blood between her mother and herself, she does not paint Brooke as a monster, but as a woman trying to do right by her daughter. Although Brooke goes about it the wrong way, she does love Bliss and always wants what is best for her. And most importantly, up to the end, neither she nor Bliss ever compromises herself or her beliefs. They grow over the course of the film, and so does their relationship, but each, by the end, is still the same person she was when it began. This infuses the production with a sense of reality lacking in other films of its kind.
Whip It is filled with wonderful performances, from Andrew Wilson’s low-key and constantly put-upon Razor, Bliss’ roller derby coach, to Kristen Wiig’s Maggie Mayhem, a kickass and maternal derby girl who takes Bliss under her wing and provides her with skating tips as well as emotional support. Wiig, known for being so over-the-top on Saturday Night Live is down-to-earth and warmhearted here. She is simultaneously funnier and more human than she has been in previous roles. Meanwhile, Alia Shawkat (best known as Maeby from Arrested Development) is similarly humorous and real as Bliss’ best friend, Pash.
Barrymore has made a gorgeous film that captures all the blood, sweat, adrenaline, and violence of roller derby, but also makes room for some beautifully idyllic scenes one might not have expected in such a film. In one sequence, Bliss watches out the window of the bus, as it drives out of her small town on the way to Austin for the derby tryouts. She sees various images of her small town life, practically frozen in time. She waves to her friend, working in a restaurant, who doesn’t notice her as she drifts by. Meanwhile, the film’s loveliest and most surreal scene occurs underwater, as she and her boyfriend, Oliver (Landon Pigg), swim and make love.
It is rare to find a film that is this oddball, touching, inventive, funny, and uplifting all at once. It is full of life in a way that most big-budget productions are not but is also refreshingly unpretentious and free-spirited to boot, particularly for an indie. Whereas many independent films can feel calculated and faux-quirky, Whip It is never anything less than the real deal–funny, sweet, and genuine, not unlike Drew Barrymore herself. It also happens to be one of the best films of 2009 to date. Watch it, love it, whip it.
Related posts:
- The 10 Best Films of 2009
- Journey to the Center of the Earth in 3-D!!!
- Christmas Flashback: It’s a Wonderful Life
- "Strange Magic": Xanadu on Broadway
- Movie Magic: The Majestic
{ 1 comment }
What a wonderful review, Robert! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and am now very much looking forward to seeing the film.
Comments on this entry are closed.