Review - Whip It

Told you I'd review a good movie. Here's my latest attempt at film criticism:

Whip it

4 out of 5 stars

The Good: Drew Barrymore takes a familiar storyline and gives us more than we expected
The Bad: You will have to watch Jimmy Fallon, which is not great, but not unbearable
The Ugly: Nothing really qualifies in this category but I will say that the movie starts rather blah.

Non Spoiler review - What begins as a typical teenager finding bliss story, actually becomes a pretty great movie. The movie follows Bliss, played by Ellen Page, who has been brought up to compete in various pageants. She finds out about a roller derby league in Austin, TX and quickly begins living a secret life as a roller derby star. This silly premise and basic plot would lead you to assume that this movie will be a same old, same old quirky comedy. That Drew Barrymore is the first time director of the film doesn't alleviate any doubts either. I was really worried about 5 minutes in. Bliss hates being in pageants, but you don't really know why. She's extremely shy and quiet and awkward for unknown reasons. Why am I starting a 4 star review that sounds like a 1 star movie? Because, it's not the pieces that make this a delightful movie, but the unexpected ways they are put together.

Once the roller derby plot kicks in, the movie takes off, in a cozy, sports comedy, underdog story way. But Ellen Page's Bliss turns out to be so hard to like in the beginning of the film because she is in fact not a complete person yet. She is instead an insecure 17 year girl trying to find her way in the world and she doesn't always make good decisions. In fact, the highlight of the movie to me was the way Bliss' actions had realistic consequences. Bliss doesn't make easy mistakes, and conflicts are not easily resolved. This is not to say that the movie isn't fun, because it is. It is actually made so much more enjoyable because Drew Barrymore gives a touching humanity to the main characters that makes you care about them in a way you wouldn't care for any of the characters in, say, Dodgeball (although I do love that movie). It helps that the always great Marcia Gay Harden plays Bliss' mom and a surprisingly good Daniel Stern plays Bliss' dad. That's right, Daniel Stern, Joe Pesci's sidekick in the Home Alone movies is a good actor. Likewise, SNL's Kristen Wiig continues to show that she deserves to get bigger roles and can be truly great when given a chance. This is Bad News Bears with a dash of Juno. It's a fun, familiar tale told with more heart and honesty that you'd expect and I highly recommend it.

Spoiler Section
For those who have seen the movie, or for those who won't see it even though you should, here are a couple of spoilery moments that really made me appreciate this movie. There comes a point in the movie where Bliss' parents find out what she's been up to. As with any movie where the lead as a big secret, it gets out. But then the film does something interesting. Bliss actually comes out of the scene looking like the one in the wrong. Her parents are understandably upset that she's been out all night (breaking into a building to hook up with her boyfriend) while her best friend has spent the night in jail. But Bliss' defense is not the defense of a screenwriter, she has no grand speech. She instead acts like a rebellious 17 year old who has lost respect for her parents and has become very self-involved. I almost cheered when, after claiming she does support herself, her mother looks her straight in the eyes and says, "No, you buy shoes." Having recently heard stories of kids thinking they know more than there parents, it was great to see someone with no perspective on how the real world works called on their shit. Bliss doesn't understand what it takes to support herself, and the movie pulls no punches in showing us that her new-found happiness has a price.

Their are two other moments between Bliss and her mother, a beauty queen turned mail carrier that are worth mentioning. The first is when Bliss returns home after running away and realizing her first love is actually a creep. Bliss' despair at giving away her virginity to someone who didn't even care about her is heartbreaking, especially as she tries to reveal this to her mother. It's a great moment, and a step towards reconciliation. But the last thing I want to talk about is that the movie doesn't tell us everything is going to be alright. It only leaves us hopeful. Marcia Gay Harden does a brilliant job at conveying the pain of watching her child make choices that won't give her a future. Bliss may have found hers, but we don't know how it will turn out, and we aren't sure that mother and daughter will ever really repair the damage. It is a much deeper relationship than you would expect, and the movie is that much stronger for it.