Whip It!
In 2007 Juno was released. It was a well-written, witty and touching film which dealt with the hot-button issue of teen pregnancy in a very matter-of-fact feminist way. It was a film about a working class family, but it never sought to demean the characters because of their social position. It was made clear that the family loved each other, and it was also plain to see that they were able to handle the main character’s pregnancy in a manner that was supportive and non-judgmental. It starred Ellen Page as deliberately-different teenager, Juno McGuff. The role seemed to be made for Page, who was able to carry off the dry, funny dialogue with style.
All of the characters in Juno were complex, well-rounded individuals who could easily be identified with. The female characters in particular were strong, forthright and confident.
2009 saw the release of Whip It!. It is directed and produced by Drew Barrymore (Charlie’s Angels, Titan A.E., Ever After) who also has a minor role in the film. This is a poorly written movie which tries to be witty, but isn’t, and has some feminist themes, but these are basically just used as an excuse to show attractive 20 and 30-something women in tight shorts.
The film focuses on Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page), a teenage rebel living in a small Texas town who goes to Austin and discovers the sport of roller-derby. From a layman’s perspective, roller-derby involves two teams of aggressive young women chasing each other around a small circular track on roller skates, pushing and thumping each other with gusto. It must be a great way to blow off steam in what is, after all, an absurdly patriarchal America. The film follows Bliss’ development in the sport from an uncertain beginner to a star athlete.
It is quite clear that this film is trying to build on the success of Juno by using the same lead actor and the same sassy punk attitude that made Juno so special, but it fails miserably. Most of the characters are one-dimensional with the exception of Bliss and her girlfriend Pash (Alia Shawkat). Juliette Lewis, who plays Bliss’ principal opponent, has an incredibly bland role, which is a shame given the wonderful roles she has played in The Other Sister and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. The same can be said of Marcia Gay Harden (Pollock, Mystic River) and Daniel Stern (City Slickers, Home Alone), the actors who play Bliss’ mother and father. In contrast to Juno’s parents who were competent and interesting, Bliss’ parents are portrayed as colourless, incompetent and ineffectual. They reinforce the stereotype that working class people are dull and conservative. This kind of portrayal shows a remarkable lack of imagination on the part of Barrymore and the writer, Shawna Cross.
The film is equally unimaginative in that it doesn’t really have a sense of place. It is set in Texas, but most of the characters do not have Texan accents. You get the feeling that the story could have just as easily taken place in the mid-West.
Whip It! isn’t really the worst movie to be produced by the American film industry, that honour would probably go to Battlefield Earth or Ishtar; but it doesn’t have the script or complex characters that would turn it into a really good movie. The roller-derby sequences are kind of interesting, but because the majority of Bliss’ teammates never become fully developed characters, we don’t care whether they win or lose. If you are a die-hard fan of Ellen Page, go ahead and rent this movie, but I would highly recommend that you give it a miss. Rent Juno instead.
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