Whip it (2009)
4/5
"Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page) has grown unhappy with the apparent small-town Texas life of Friday night football and beauty pageant competition, the football championed by her father Earl (Daniel Stern) and the pageants by her mother Brooke (Marcia Gay Harden). She commiserates with her best friend Pash (Alia Shawkat) at their waitressing jobs.
Pash has a plan to get out: she is applying to Ivy League schools. Bliss just wants to get out and needs a plan and a calling. She finds it during a shopping trip to Austin, Texas where she picks up a flyer for a Roller Derby event, schemes to attend, gets invited to try out and becomes Babe Ruthless, her alter-ego roller derby character.
She makes the team, lies about her age, works hard to succeed, experiences her first love with the young lead singer of an Indie rock band, gets disappointed in love, bonds with her new family of roller derby girls, fights with her mother to escape the beauty pageant and live her new dream as roller derby star. She manages to reconcile all of this, impress and win over her parents and friends, and charts an ambiguous goal to move to Austin, continue with Roller Derby, and live her new life."
I watched this movie the other day, without any expectations what-so-ever, finding again that this is usually the best condition for watching movies.
In all honesty, I picked it as I was curious to find out whether directing would also go on the list of Drew Barrymore's talents and also because it stars Ellen Page (Juno), who I find incredibly talented. None of these were disappointments, on the contrary!
Whip it is a truly sweet-spirited and fun story about adolescence, following your dreams and of course about love.
It struck me as a modern-day version of my all-time favourite 80's movie, "Girls just wanna have fun" - but it somehow more sophisticated, mostly thanks to the acting-skills of Ellen Page.
I loved watching this in my 30's! I can't even imagine how much more I would have loved it watching this at the age of 15 ;)
"Drew Barrymore's directorial debut, Whip It, a coming-of-age tale fused with an underdog sports story that hits all the expected developments with unexpected personality and grace."
Cinematical.com
Watch the trailer:
....or read more about it here:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/whip_it/
Let me know what your thoughts? Enjoy ;)
xox
Linda - Lost in Switzerland
I have been wanting to see this movie!
ReplyDeleteoh i loved whip it! such a good movie & i really felt exhilarated after watching it.
ReplyDeleteTo starcakeastrology.blogspot.com :
ReplyDeleteDo watch it and let me know if you liked it?
Lina: Oh me too! It made me feel.....young!! ;)