Whip It

Page film ‘Whip It’ a fun romp

ELLEN PAGE in “Whip It.”

It comes off as a bit far-fetched.
A petite 17-year-old with a pushy mother who finds herself in a myriad of beauty pageants decides what she really wants to do is join a roller derby team.
Huh? OK. It isn’t too realistic. But heck, the ride is still pretty fun.
Perky Ellen Page by herself is almost enough to make you want to see a movie. She’s so darn cute and you immediately pull for her in any plot.
So she’s in the mall with mom Brooke Cavendar (Marcia Gay Harden), buying new shoes, when in comes a herd of roller derby chicks, passing out leaflets, advertising their latest contest.
Now this roller derby league is a real by-the-seat operation. The building they play in is dilapidated. It regularly exceeds capacity, prompting a raid by the local fire department.
The film is directed nicely by Drew Barrymore, who is a fellow member of the Roller Derby team. She’s Smashley Simpson. Perhaps because of her directing, you see less of Drew than in most movies.
Somehow, little Page, whose name in the film is Bliss Cavendar, makes the team. Her ‘player’ name is Babe Ruthless. Other players include Juliette Lewis as Iron Maven, Kristen Wiig as Maggie Mayhem and others with monikers like Rosa Sparks and Eva Destruction.
TV host Jimmy Fallon plays ‘Hot Tub’ Johnny Rocket, the zany announcer and Andrew Wilson is the coach. Fallon appears to ad-lib a series of wisecracks in his game commentary and after an event, holds up a sign that he is available and STD-free.
The team is named the Hurl Scouts and each season, members resign themselves to last place. They get pushed and hammered and slammed, but they always come out on the bottom.
Page, who was 22 when the film was made, can easily play a 17-year-old high school student, lies and tells the team she is, well, 22.
Somehow, with help of a friend, she makes the rather lengthy trek to Austin for practices and games. She lies to her mother and father, saying she is practicing for her SATs when she is actually practicing Roller Derby. Well, close.
You have to suspend belief here.
She gets away with it and the team actually uses some of the plays put together by its hapless coach.
So with fast and feisty Babe Ruthless on the team, they have a chance at the championship.
But a raid because of too many people in the building causes a turn for the worse.
Her clueless parents learn Bliss, or Babe, isn’t really so studious.
But hey, fooling mother isn’t anything new. Her husband, played by Daniel Stern of “Home Alone” and “Breaking Away” fame, has told her for years he’s working on a big contract when he’s sitting in the family van watching football.
A sidestory really doesn’t go anywhere involving a boy in a mediocre rock band. In a throw-away scene, they sneak into a building and Bliss strips to her underwear while swimming underwater.
The finale is pretty special, although by now a bit less Fallon would have been better. Yes, shock of shock, Bliss or Babe, does get to participate in the final game. It is a doozy and her biggest fan turns out to be dear old dad.
Isn’t that usually the case?
“Whip It” isn’t nearly as good as “Juno” or “Hard Candy” but Page brings her fresh-scrubbed persona to his gritty role and it really works.
There are interesting characters, like the single-mother player, that make for nice sidetrips as the plot follows the main path.
There’s thrills, there’s chills, there’s fun in “Whip It.” So whip out some cash and rent it.


WHIP IT • Directed by Drew Barrymore • Written by Shauna Cross, who wrote the novel and does the screen play • Runtime: 111 minutes • Rated PG 13 • 3 stars out of 4