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Notes:
Bliss is dragged to beauty pageant by her obsessed mother. This is not what she wants and when she discovers the world of roller derby, she jumps in and starts to skate. She has to keep this from her parents but when her secret gets out, she has to take control of the future on her own terms.
Drama Comedy - This roller derby themed comedy-drama is aimed at female moviegoers,
particularly teens. Language and some alcohol may make this worthy
of caution for parents of really young girls.
PROFANITY: 7 S-words, 4 GD's, a number of others. SEX/NUDITY: None. VIOLENCE: A slap; fighting; falls. DRUGS/ALCOHOL: Alcohol, including by teens; tobacco. ACTION: Roller derby action. COMEDY: Some comic lines and banter.
Berardinelli, Internet CriticFull Review Average Whip It, the directorial debut of actress Drew Barrymore, is a sports film that uneasily straddles the divide that exists between comedy and drama.
Roger EbertFull Review Very Good 'Whip It' is an unreasonably entertaining movie, causing you perhaps to revise your notions about women's Roller Derby, assuming you have any.
USA TodayFull Review Average Sports films centering on girls and women are worth cheering on. But Whip It lacks the charm and energy of a Bend It Like Beckham. Strangely, Barrymore's tribute to girl power lacks exuberance.
NewsdayFull Review Good Barrymore directs with breezy confidence and obvious affection for her actors, and for the material.
Note: The rating
above is our interpretation of what the critic would give this movie based on
their review. We are not affiliated with these critic's in any way.
For years, Bliss Cavendar (Academy Award® nominee Ellen Page) has been dreaming of
escaping her tiny, truck-stop of a town Bodeen, Texas. Unfortunately her devoted, beauty pageant
obsessed mother (Academy Award® winner Marcia Gay Harden) is convinced that Bliss can only
succeed in life if she wins the crown at the local Miss Blue Bonnet Pageant, but the awkward outsider
knows there’s something bigger and better out there. When Bliss sneaks off to the big city of Austin
with her best friend Pash (Alia Shawkat) she discovers a world unlike anything she could ever imagine:
roller derby, with its girl-power-meets-punk-rock spirit and its liberating celebration of wild
individuality.
Inspired by the likes of Maggie Mayhem (Kristen Wiig), Bliss secretly tries out for a spot on
the Hurl Scouts, a rag-tag team of scrappy underdogs. Soon she’s trading in her gowns and crowns for
skirts, skates and scrapes becoming her alter ego, Babe Ruthless. Leading a precarious double life,
Bliss may be a waitress at Bodeen’s Oink Joint by day, but by night, she’s becoming the fastest thing on
eight wheels. Now she’s doing things she never dreamed of -- fearlessly facing off with bad-ass rivals
like Iron Maven (Academy Award® nominee Juliette Lewis) and falling for a boy in a band
(singer/songwriter Landon Pigg) -- while trying to be a heroine to her new friends and teammates. But
when her secret gets out, Bliss will face her toughest fight yet: to take control of the future . . . on her
own terms.
