Whip out five stars for Drew Barrymore, Ellen Page & company, rolls onto victory from the first frames

Rating: 10/10 (14 October 2009)

Bliss (Ellen Page) lives in the small town of Bodine, Texas, where she goes to high school and works after class at the Oink Joint. Her mother, Brooke (Marcia Gay Harden), now a mail carrier, was once a small-time beauty pageant winner and enters her daughters in every nearby competition. Although Bliss does not like the gigs, she doesn't want to hurt her pushy mother and, in truth, shines at the pageants, due to her intelligent answers. Nevertheless, it is only her younger sister who comes home with the big trophies. Their father (Daniel Stern) does not want to cross his wife concerning his kids' extracurricular activities. One day, Bliss and her closest friend see a poster for a roller derby in Austen and, thinking they will meet some nice fellows, make up some fibs to attend. Once there, Bliss is awestruck. Attractive ladies whip around the rink, jostling for points and attention. Could she, Bliss, do this, too? Lying about her age, the young waitress is soon renamed Babe Ruthless and becomes part of the Hurl Scouts team. A very fast skater, her stardom and team begin to rise in the standings. But, since her parents do not know she is not attending the SAT classes she said she was while she is out of the house and with a young rock singer making eyes at her, will Bliss' future be, well, blissful? This is a five star, knockout debut for Barrymore and all of the others. What an intriguing, heartfelt story and homage to a little-known "sport" and what an energetic, inventive direction of it by our little Drew, now grown-up. The swimming pool scene alone is worth any ticket price. Then, too, the characters are wonderfully real and touching. Especially admirable is the way conflicts are resolved without shouting and with much love. In the main roles, Page, Harden, Stern, Barrymore herself, Juliette Lewis, Jimmy Fallon and all, all of the other cast members are terrific! The setting in Texas is lovely, the costumes are quite nice and every one of the other production niceties are topnotch. In short, whip out even twelve bucks or more to see this totally winning film. Awesome, Drew and Ellen, simply awesome...you go, girls!