Film File - Whip It

Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page) wants out of her dead-end life. For years, she's been dreaming of escaping her tiny, truck-stop town - Bodeen, Texas - for brighter lights somewhere over the horizon. Unfortunately, her beauty pageant-obsessed mother (Marcia Gay Harden) believes that Bliss can only succeed in life if she wins the crown at the local Miss Blue Bonnet Pageant. Her father, Earl (Daniel Stern) has long ago stopped arguing with the demands of his wife, and leaves his eldest daughter as the family renegade while her little sister, Shania (Eulala Scheel), is exactly what mom wants in a pageant-winner. However, the socially awkward but emotionally smart Bliss knows there's something bigger and better out there. When she eventually sneaks off to the big city of Austin with her best friend, Pash (Alia Shawkat), she discovers a world unlike anything she could ever imagine: roller derby, with its girl-power-meets-punk-rock spirit and its liberating celebration of wild individuality. Inspired by the likes of Maggie Mayhem (Kristen Wiig), Bliss secretly tries out for a spot on the Hurl Scouts, a rag-tag team of scrappy underdogs. Soon she's trading in her gowns and skirts for skates and scrapes en route to becoming her new alter ego, Babe Ruthless. Leading a precarious double life, Bliss may be a waitress at Bodeen's Oink Joint by day, but by night, she's becoming the fastest thing on eight wheels. Now she's doing things she never dreamed of - facing off with bad-ass rivals like Iron Maven (Juliette Lewis) and falling for a boy in a band, Oliver (Landon Pigg), while also trying to be a heroine to her new friends and team-mates. Eventually, her secret life is exposed, and Bliss faces a tough test of either following orders or the pull of her bigger ambitions. This film marks the directorial debut of Drew Barrymore, from a screenplay by Shauna Cross, author of the semi-autobiographical novel from which the story is adapted. As a primer for a possible career behind the camera, Barrymore chose the project for its depiction of family conflicts set against a backdrop of one of the edgiest, most female empowering, underground sports in America. First invented in the doldrums of 1930s Depression-era America, this full-contact sport in which skaters chase each other around an oval track, throwing elbows and body-checking one another, became a pop-culture spectacle in the '60s and '70s, then disappeared. But recently, perhaps as a reflection of this current recession, it started making a surprise comeback, as grassroots leagues began springing up in cities across the US, thrilling audiences with their racy clothing, rock-n-roll attitudes and sheer competitive fervour. As a follow-up to 'Juno', the 2007 acting debut for Ellen Page, 'Whip It' provides a perfect vehicle for her burgeoning talent, as well as the sharp and witty script from Cross. When Bliss, entranced by her first viewing of the roller derby spectacle, tells a competitor she's her hero, she's advised to "be your own hero". Stretching credibility at times, 'Whip It' is a regular coming-of-age film, but one with heart and humour, and for which we can forgive its small faults. Barrymore makes an assured debut, and her obvious love for the story and its characters shines through in every frame. 'Whip It' is a predictable but heartwarming journey to another America, a place whose youthful ambitions will give everyone a rosy glow.