![]() ![]() She's encouraged to try out for the team, and despite her tiny size she turns out to be fast and nimble on her skates. When Bliss catches sight of some derby girls, she determines to travel from her sleepy town of Bodeen, Texas, to nearby Austin to catch the show. ![]() Daniel Stern breathes a little life into the dad role, but it's the same-old portrayal of a decent but emotionally absent father figure. Page plays Bliss, who enters beauty pageants to satisfy her mother's (Marcia Gay Harden) Doris Day concept of womanhood, but secretly favors combat boots. Perhaps it's the fact that roller derby phenom is stitched onto the back of the overly familiar coming-of-age teen movie, with all the predictable tropes. ![]() ![]() There's some of that brash energy, and the action in the rink is enjoyably rough-and-tumble.īut something about the movie, which was written by Shauna Cross and based on her book "Derby Girl," left me wanting more. That's what I was hoping for from "Whip It," the new roller derby flick starring Ellen Page from "Juno" and marking the directorial debut of Drew Barrymore (who also has a small role). In its modern punk incarnation of ripped fishnet stockings, mascara applied with a trowel and tattooed gals who celebrate a really gnarly bruise, it's all about elbowing aside all of society's rigid hang-ups about what nice girls do - and don't do. I know some roller derby chicks, and can testify to the girl-power jolt that fuels the resurgence of the cheesy 1970s sport. ![]()
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