Good but not great

Rating: 6/10 (2 May 2010)

Like another reviewer has stated already, I really wanted to like this movie. Ellen Page is an excellent actress and I have been anticipating Barrymore's debut.
Unfortunately, I just couldn't bring myself to really like this flick. I'd gone into it hoping for at least a bit of the brilliance that was Page's latest big hit, Juno. I was sad to see that that was not the case. Whip It simply tries too hard. I felt like it was trying to shove the indie genre down my throat, and by the end I felt a bit like gagging. The story is too predictable, and some of the characters came off as somewhat one-dimensional.
While this bothers me, Whip It does come with a few rare moments of brilliance. The mother/daughter relationship especially is great and is what kept me watching this movie to the end. And the most intense moments on the derby-track work well (and knowing that the actresses did their own stunts is always a plus), so this is still very watchable. Seeing as it IS Barrymore's debut, she actually did a fine job, but a little polishing wouldn't have hurt this movie.