Whip it: The same style doesn't disappoint every time.

Rating: 5/10 (31 January 2010)

The beauty of Ellen Page is that she has become an actress that's subtle. Since her 'claim-to-fame' movies like 'Hard Candy' and 'Juno,' viewers are expecting at least a little of a quirky, quick-witted character. 'Whip It' is no different, but that's alright. In fact, this whole movie from start to finish fits in the easy pattern of a woman finding her way. You can call out each upcoming scene and even some of the lines of you think about it hard enough, but still, it turns out to not to matter. By the end of the movie, you had an enjoyable experience and even got to see some women beat the hell out of each other.
The movie is about Bliss Cavendar (Page), who is a high school girl growing up in No-where, Texas being forced to go through the pageant circuit thanks to her mother (Marcia Gay Harden) in her attempt to impart "1950 ideals of womanhood." Obviously Bliss wants out, so she finds in Houston the Roller Derby, where she lies about only being seventeen to make it on the team, and thus starts a second, more fulfilling life.
That synopsis alone is enough to give your mind to fill in the blanks and plot gaps, and you would pretty much be right. Bliss begins lying to her parents, changing her schedule and continually coming in late every week, yet nobody seems to care or notice for far too long. She becomes a star in the rink, yet is envied by antagonist Iron Maven (Juliette Lewis). There's the rocker boy love interest, which by the end you can't tell where they stand just because that's how the character is – a woman that takes care of her own – but none of that will really bother or get tedious.
The reason is, the cast of characters and the action that is Roller Derby always draws you back in. The rules are simplified and explained once, then with refreshers as the games progress, just in case you didn't get it with the explanation in the beginning. After that you're watching girls circle a large rink, trying to knock the hell out of each other, block, bump, grind, and any other combination you can think of to score. The teammates on Bliss' team – the Hurl Scouts – add to the mix, bringing in humor and helping Bliss grow in this unique "coming of age" tale.
And that's really what this movie is really about. Writer of the screenplay and book that the movie was based on, Shauna Cross, was a derby girl herself, and modeled both by the experiences she saw and felt. Director Drew Barrymore, who has a part in the movie as Smashly Simpson (all derby girls have a nickname, if you couldn't tell), keeps the focus on Bliss and her journey and not on the possible side characters.
"Whip It" keeps you entertained with its blend of situational humor, sass and a tiny bit of melodrama brings this movie together. And thankfully, this one also has plenty of humor and girl-on-girl fisticuffs to keep everyone happy and involved.