Whip It
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Whip It
Rough-and-tumble coming-of-age tale about a small-town Texas high school student (Ellen Page) who, with the help of her best friend (Alia Shawkat), defies her socially ambitious mother (Marcia Gay Harden) by secretly joining a hard-edged roller derby team (led by Kristen Wiig), eventually falling for a local rock singer (Landon Pigg) she meets at one of their matches. First-time director Drew Barrymore's adaptation of Shauna Cross' novel is buoyed by heartfelt performances from the principals, but the skimpy outfits and bruising smackdowns of the showcased competition come across as more exploitative than empowering, while Cross' script at least partially glamorizes irresponsible sexuality. Nongraphic nonmarital underage sexual activity, brief partial nudity, underage drinking, occasional irreverence, a few uses of profanity, some sexual humor and references, about a dozen crude terms and much crass language. L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. (PG-13) 2009
Whip It (Full Review)
The hard-edged world of women's roller derby provides the setting for the coming-of-age tale "Whip It" (Fox Searchlight). Rather than serving as a forum for feminist self-expression, as first-time director Drew Barrymore seems to intend, the rough and tumble of the showcased competition -- with its skimpy outfits and bruising smackdowns calculated to delight boorish male fans -- comes across as more exploitative than empowering.
Throwing herself into this ostensibly liberating underground sport is restless small-town Texas high school student Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page). Since her strong-willed, socially ambitious mother Brooke's (Marcia Gay Harden) fondest wish for Bliss is that she become the queen of the local beauty pageant circuit, Bliss carefully conceals her new enthusiasm both from Mom and from her amiable but henpecked father Earl (Daniel Stern).
With the support of her best friend Pash (Alia Shawkat), and despite not having skated since she was a little girl, Bliss gains a spot on an Austin-based team known as the Hurl Scouts, becoming the protege of their captain, Maggie Mayhem (Kristen Wiig). As her skills improve and her star rises, Bliss -- who now goes by the moniker Babe Ruthless -- discovers romance, falling for derby fan and local rock singer Oliver (Landon Pigg) whom she meets at one of the Scouts' matches.
Barrymore's genre-blending debut -- partly a sports drama and a romantic comedy as well as a chronicle of teen maturation -- in which she plays Smashley Simpson, another of Bliss' colorfully nicknamed teammates, is buoyed by heartfelt performances from its principals.
But, though Shauna Cross' script, adapted from her own novel of the same title, has Bliss grapple with the negative consequences of premature freedom -- and come to a better appreciation of her parents -- it also, at least partially, glamorizes her irresponsible sexual experimentation.
The film contains nongraphic nonmarital underage sexual activity, brief partial nudity, underage drinking, occasional irreverence, a few uses of profanity, some sexual humor and references, about a dozen crude terms and much crass language. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
Movies have been evaluated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishop's Office for Film and Broadcasting according to artistic
merit and moral suitability. The reviews include the USCCB rating,
the Motion Picture Association of America rating, and a brief
synopsis of the movie.
The classifications are as follows:
- A-I -- general patronage;
- A-II -- adults and adolescents;
- A-III -- adults;
- A-IV**
- L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. L replaces the previous classification, A-IV.
- O -- morally offensive.
** Discontinued classification. All archived movies that were originally in the A-IV category are now classified as L.