Blu-ray Review
Whip It
Directed by: Drew Barrymore
Cast: Ellen Page, Kristen Wiig, Alia Shawkat, Marcia Gay Harden, Daniel Stern
Running Time: 1 hr 51 mins
Rating: PG-13
Due Out: January 26, 2010
Buy Whip It [Blu-ray] on Amazon
PLOT: Bliss (Page) wants more out of her small town life than the beauty pageants her mother pushes her toward. Bliss jumps at her chance to join the roller derby team, but then must live a double life so her parents don’t find out.
WHO’S IT FOR? Ladies who are sick of men getting all the roles in sports movies. Anyone who believes Page could be one of the best young actors working today.
MOVIE:
Whip It gives you exactly what you hope or want out of a movie. It’s perfectly controlled to get you to laugh, sigh, hope and even tear up. Barrymore can direct. That shouldn’t be up for debate. Though maybe in the future she can take more risks. The rythms of the film are very familiar. Keeping a secret from parents that will eventually backfire, but hopefully not too much is a storyline we’ve all seen. Even moments like the food fight have a familiarity (Animal House). Here, having this be a carbon copy of films we’ve seen before isn’t an insult, it’s a comfort. What separates the film and makes it something that can stand the test of time is two things …
1) Ellen Page. She rocks. 2) This is a women’s sports movie that doesn’t focus on beating the guy.
Barrymore and Page are poster children for female empowerment, with the message having nothing to do with “I’m as good or as tough as a guy.” The message is, “I’m kick ass” and so is this movie.
MOVIE SCORE: 8/10
EXTRAS
Deleted Scenes: There are nine deleted scenes in all, including an Alternative Opening. Bliss and Corbi are on the diner's roof. The both are going to jump into the garbage dumpster, only Bliss chickens out. This is the reason she has to dye her hair for the pageant. It does a good job of explaining, but oddly puts the focus on the two of them, instead of Bliss's journey. Just like usual, the other deleted scenes are deleted for a reason.
Fox Movie Channel Presents Writer's Draft: Shauna Cross of Whip It - Cross gets three minutes to explain how she was inspired to write the screenplay and her passion behind the project.
Whip It soundtrack spot: It's a commercial for the soundtrack. That's it.
EXTRAS SCORE: 5/10
OVERALL
I've been thinking of making a Top 7 list of Forgotten Films of 2009. Whip It would be near the top. It never cracked the top 5 at the box office, and doesn't seem to have gained any steam on Blu-ray yet, but it's still early. Probably because of the dismal box office the Blu-ray isn't loaded with extras. There is no commentary. I think that's the biggest loss. It would have been interesting to hear Barrymore talk about what she learned as a direction. Plus, getting Wiig on the commentary would have given me what I felt like the movie was missing (more Wiig).
FINAL SCORE: 7/10