Whip It In the Trash.

Rating: 4/10 (5 November 2015)

Whip It (2009): Dir: Drew Barrymore / Cast: Ellen Page, Marcia Gay Harden, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis, Kristen Wiig: High energy teen flick about goals and risks. Ellen Page plays Bliss Cavendar who works at a diner and subdued to her mother's demands to do pageants. She grows intrigued with female roller derby and faces the bumps to make it. Innovative directing by Drew Barrymore who also appears as Smashingly Simpson. Screenplay begins well but suffers from formula storytelling, repetition and clichés. Page is a sell going from forced glamour queen to a secret rollerblader who is afraid to face her mother. It is obvious that she will score big but thankfully her performance allow this film to avoid being a total miss. With that said, the rest of the cast are weighed down with stereotypes. Barrymore as Smashingly Simpson seems bent on getting into fights but this only positions her as a type not a personality. Juliette Lewis plays the typical rival pushing Page to the edge. Marcia Gay Harden does what she can as the strict mother who will suddenly see the light in the conclusion. Kristen Wiig plays a mother who is part of this group as a freedom. Not a bad start for Barrymore as director who hopefully will discover a more worthy project. The rollerblading element is interesting but unfortunately the screenplay fails to whip it into action. Score: 4 ½ / 10