The coming-of-age comedy "Whip It" won't win any awards, but it does boast one laudable distinction. It has the cleverest scene involving worshiping the porcelain goddess in movie history.
Don't worry: That's about as off-color as Drew Barrymore's sweet, grrrl-power film-directing debut gets. Nearly anything that might be considered offensive is cloaked in euphemism, even though the film's PG-13 rating gives it room to go further. "Whip It" isn't an envelope-pushing film. It's an "I want to be liked" film, and for the most part, it's fairly likable.
Set in present-day Texas, "Whip It" makes it feel as if the '70s are alive and kicking, visually and thematically. The heroine, Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page of "Juno"), is a repressed rebel who lets her former-beauty-queen mom, Brooke (Marcia Gay Harden), push her into one pageant after another. There's little else to do in tiny Bodeen.
Aside from best bud Pash (Alia Shawkat), high-school senior Bliss has no friends. Well, there is Birdman (Carlo Alban), Bliss and Pash's former peer and now boss at the Oink Joint, the barbecue restaurant where the girls work. But the boys at school are all of the cheerleader-chasing jock variety, and Bliss yearns for more interesting men and a more fulfilling life.
During a shopping expedition in nearby Austin, Bliss picks up a flyer advertising a women's roller-derby exhibition. She and Pash sneak out for the event, and in no time Bliss is dusting off her Barbie skates, winning a spot on a team called the Hurl Scouts and becoming the rookie of the year. Her mom and dad, Earl (Daniel Stern), are oblivious, of course.
Bliss finds herself in roller derby, where her speed and agility make up for her initial lack of toughness. Dubbed "Babe Ruthless," she gets important life lessons from teammate Maggie Mayhem (Kristen Wiig) and rival Iron Maven (Juliette Lewis). She also finds first love with aspiring musician Oliver (Landon Pigg).
Barrymore shows her goofy charm as stoner skater Smashley Simpson, one of several supporting players who perk up the formulaic plot. Jimmy Fallon does his best acting ever as wimpy derby host/play-by-play man Johnny Rocket. Andrew Wilson (brother of Owen and Luke) is winning as put-upon coach Razor. Zoe Bell ("Grindhouse"), who looks like a muscular Kate Hudson, adds humor and an engaging New Zealand accent.
The screenplay by Shauna Cross, based on her book "Derby Girl," employs nearly every cliche in the coming-of-age flick handbook, from the mother-daughter clashes to the romantic tribulations to the climactic big-event conflict. However, Barrymore and the cast find a way to zig when tradition dictates they zag. For example, little-sis Shania (Eulala Scheel), who seems thrilled to be heading down the pageant track, turns out to be not bratty but supportive. Mom Brooke is genteel and traditional but also has a bad-girl side.
Music-driven and mostly lightweight, "Whip It" delivers an honest female-empowerment message thanks to three unflinching performances. Younger viewers may prefer Page (appealing in "Juno"-lite mode) more, but the standouts are Harden, Wiig and especially Lewis. Barrymore's biggest and best move as a director was casting these three and letting them roll.
© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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