WHIP IT IS RATED PG-13
Sports movies focusing on women are few and far between. And not since A League of Their Own has a female-centric sports story captured our hearts and inspired women to reach for their dreams.
Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut, "Whip It," not only does both, but it enters a new league all its own. It’s a fun, feisty film that reminds girls (and women) it’s okay to be different—and that it’s actually pretty cool to be a chick. But guys, don’t roll your eyes just yet. It’s not a total chick-flick. There’s also plenty of action and humor to keep your attention.
The story revolves around Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page), a social misfit forced by her well-meaning mother (Marcia Gay Harden) to enter beauty pageants. With little going on in the small town of Bodeen, Texas, Bliss is living anything but a blissful existence. Her life is going in circles, and she feels like she’s going nowhere . . . until, that is, she discovers the sport of roller derby and joins a league called the Hurl Scouts.
Soon, going in circles begins to makes sense. In her journey to find a place she fits in, Bliss learns she can create a new life for herself without completely letting go of the one she’s always known.
Drew Barrymore, Kristen Wiig, Juliette Lewis and Jimmy Fallon round out a perfectly chosen cast. And Barrymore has brought about a real sense of camaraderie among everyone involved.
The movie’s message is clear: Other people may believe in you, but it’s only after you begin to believe in yourself that a whole new world of possibilities opens up.
Throughout the film, we are urged to embrace who we are. And that means embracing all of our imperfections, quirks and eccentricities. As the tagline says, Be Your Own Hero.
Who knows . . . you might finally discover that inner hero who’s been waiting to emerge.
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