Whip It (c) Fox Searchlight, 2009

Fox Searchlight – 2009
Starring: Ellen Page, Marcia Gay Harden, Drew Barrymore, Kristen Wiig, Juliette Lewis (and let’s not forget Zoe Bell)
Director: Drew Barrymore

Roller derby.  Never have two words instilled within me so much excitement and nervous anxiety.  The first time I saw a bout, I was hooked.  I even went so far as to buy a pair of Riedell skates a few years back and I started frequenting Skateland – a indoor skate track I’d gone to as a kid growing up in Olympia.  I was so into derby that I bought myself a few t-shirts for my favorite teams (the Holy Roller royal blue shirt with the mudflap girl, in particular, garnered lots of attention), and was called “trailer trash” by a colleague at work.

Ah, derby.  You can’t top it.  You can’t even match it.

I was lucky enough to score a couple of passes to an advance screening of Whip It which was shown tonight at the Uptown in lower Queen Anne.  We stand in line for an hour (it’s wet and cold – Autumn has definitely arrived in Seattle) and I’m struck by the wide range of people the film is drawing.  Everyone leaves the theater smiling, excited about what they’ve just seen.

Whip It is sharp, witty, relevant, poignant and exciting.  Yes…I just described a movie that is, at its heart, about derby.

Ellen Page stars as Bliss, a 17-year old contender on the Texas beauty pageant circuit.  I know, I know.  You’re probably asking yourself just how many times can an actress play a 17-year old…especially one that is going on 23.  But, Page is brilliant (and delightfully acerbic) as always, and if it weren’t for those knowing eyes, you would eventually forget she’s in her mid-twenties because of that smile.

Bliss, or “Blister” as her father calls her, discovers derby when three roller girls skate into an Austin “head shop” she has inadvertently taken her mom to buy shoes.  She convinces her best friend to go to a bout with her and afterward, Bliss is encouraged to try out for the Hurl Scouts by Maggie Mayhem (played deftly by Kristen Wiig).  Although she’s only 17, she lies and says she’s 22 — old enough to play without parental consent.

Digging out an old pair of Barbie quads, Bliss begins the transformation from beauty-pageant-high-school-beauty-turned-waitress to hard boiled derby dame, Babe Ruthless.

The women of "Whip It" - Barrymore, Page, Wiig

The film’s derby sequences are fast-paced and don’t be surprised if you have a hard time figuring out what you’re looking at – this is about as real as it gets when you see a bout person.  The action is fast and furious.  And while the violence depicted in the film is a bit over the top (I’ve never been to a bout where safety was the most important thing on everyone’s mind, and most of these moves would get a player ejected) it is fist-pumpingly good stuff.

Drew Barrymore makes directorial debut on "Whip It"

The film moves at a great pace, and no previous knowledge (or even love) of derby is required to enjoy it.  Juliette Lewis’ turn as Iron Maven is chocked with competitive elbowing that will leave you cheering (and jeering) in your seat.  Drew Barrymore (who makes her directorial debut here) is absolutely not to be missed.

Whip It opens on October 2nd in theaters nationwide.  Grab your girlfriends, or your hipster boyfriend, and check it out.