review: Whip It
First off? It wasn't that bad. This isn't a scathing review. Yes, I'm surprised too.
Whip It is the story of a seventeen-year-old deadbeat who can't do anything right who is played by Ellen Page who gets pregnant-
Oops, wrong movie.
Whip It is the story of a seventeen-year-old deadbeat who can't do anything right who is played by Ellen Page who joins a roller derby.
Alright, sorry, I digress.
Whip It is about Bliss Cavender (affectionately called "Blister" by her father,) the off-beat daughter of a pageant queen gone to seed. When not being thrust into gag-worthy pageants and debutant balls, she works at the Oink BBQ Joint with her best friend, Pash, who this movie totally should have been about because she's great and significantly less annoying than most token best friend characters.
Due to a string of very random and convenient events, she ends up with a flyer for a roller derby in Texas, and decides to go. While there, she is encouraged to try out for the team and simultaneously catches the eye of a creepy bastard hottie named Oliver. The rest is history.
First off I have to say that the actresses in the derby teams are freaking fantastic. They made the movie as good as it was. Drew Barrymore is hilarious and this was hands down my favorite role she's ever been in. And I have to give massive props to ALL the actresses for doing all their own stunt work; it's a rough movie. I cringed repeatedly.
Also, something I really need to call attention to because it made me so happy: this movie did NOT rely on, nor use, a shit ton of pop culture references in attempt to seem more hardcore or indie, or to make the characters seem more cool. There are practically none. This pretty much made my night.
Now I'm not saying that Ellen Page can magically act all of the sudden, but she is getting better. This was probably her most believable character so far. There were a few lines that made me wince ("Lets go apeshit.") but all in all she's getting there.
But by the way I never really want to see Landon Pigg in a movie ever again. But that's more because he looks, acts and talks like MY ex-boyfriend than his crappy acting abilities.
My only other complaint is that this movie made very little use of music. The soundtrack is actually pretty good but you only hear very, very tiny snippits of the songs in the movie. A lot of the derby scenes would have kicked ASS with some music, but instead you get the BEGINNING of the song, and then once the derby starts it's gone. But that's a small complaint, worse things have happened.
Verdict:
Ellen Page could be worse, Drew Barrymore isn't a horrible director, the supporting cast is amazing, darn you Landon Pigg.
Three and a half stars.
Whip It is the story of a seventeen-year-old deadbeat who can't do anything right who is played by Ellen Page who gets pregnant-
Oops, wrong movie.
Whip It is the story of a seventeen-year-old deadbeat who can't do anything right who is played by Ellen Page who joins a roller derby.
Alright, sorry, I digress.
Whip It is about Bliss Cavender (affectionately called "Blister" by her father,) the off-beat daughter of a pageant queen gone to seed. When not being thrust into gag-worthy pageants and debutant balls, she works at the Oink BBQ Joint with her best friend, Pash, who this movie totally should have been about because she's great and significantly less annoying than most token best friend characters.
Due to a string of very random and convenient events, she ends up with a flyer for a roller derby in Texas, and decides to go. While there, she is encouraged to try out for the team and simultaneously catches the eye of a creepy bastard hottie named Oliver. The rest is history.
First off I have to say that the actresses in the derby teams are freaking fantastic. They made the movie as good as it was. Drew Barrymore is hilarious and this was hands down my favorite role she's ever been in. And I have to give massive props to ALL the actresses for doing all their own stunt work; it's a rough movie. I cringed repeatedly.
Also, something I really need to call attention to because it made me so happy: this movie did NOT rely on, nor use, a shit ton of pop culture references in attempt to seem more hardcore or indie, or to make the characters seem more cool. There are practically none. This pretty much made my night.
Now I'm not saying that Ellen Page can magically act all of the sudden, but she is getting better. This was probably her most believable character so far. There were a few lines that made me wince ("Lets go apeshit.") but all in all she's getting there.
But by the way I never really want to see Landon Pigg in a movie ever again. But that's more because he looks, acts and talks like MY ex-boyfriend than his crappy acting abilities.
My only other complaint is that this movie made very little use of music. The soundtrack is actually pretty good but you only hear very, very tiny snippits of the songs in the movie. A lot of the derby scenes would have kicked ASS with some music, but instead you get the BEGINNING of the song, and then once the derby starts it's gone. But that's a small complaint, worse things have happened.
Verdict:
Ellen Page could be worse, Drew Barrymore isn't a horrible director, the supporting cast is amazing, darn you Landon Pigg.
Three and a half stars.