Whip It

Movie: Whip It

I saw it on: October 3, 2009

Cast: Ellen Page, Drew Barrymore, Marcia Gay Harden, Kristen Wiig, Juliette Lewis, Zoe Bell, Jimmy Fallon

Genre: Drama, Comedy

Synopsis: Bliss (Ellen Page) lives in a small town outside Austin.  Her mother (Marcia Gay Harden) has been pushing her into beauty pageants for years.  Bliss is not on board with her mother’s direction, but has always acquiesced.  Until she discovers the roller derby.  This awakens a whole new – and tough – side of Bliss.  She joins a team and turns out to be really good.  So good that ther team actually wins their first match.

My two cents: It was nice to see Ellen Page in a non-Juno character.  I really enjoyed the movie, although it is hard to imagine Bliss surviving more than a few seconds in a real roller derby.  I got a kick out of an Bliss’s best friend who was played by Alia Shawkat; Alia Shawkat played Michael Cera’s cousin on Arrested Development; and Michael Cer was Juno’s baby-daddy on Juno.