Whip It | reviews, news & interviews
Whip It
Whip It
Hot roller derby girls in fishnets in Drew Barrymore's fast and funny feature debut
Monday, 05 April 2010
Ellen Page flanked by Drew Barrymore (left) and Kirsten Wiig in Barrymore's 'Whip It'
Whip It is not about nefarious S&M practices, nor the art of patisserie, nor even dog racing - although it has trace elements of all of the above. Instead, Drew Barrymore's sweet and swaggering maiden trip as director is a confection set in the rough-and-tumble world of female roller derbies, at which rival teams hurtle around a curved rink like bats out of hell, inflicting grievous bodily harm on each other in the process. For those unversed in the finer points of the sport, the film helpfully explains these near the beginning. Basically, though, it involves "hot girls in fishnets beating the crap out of each other," a spectacle which, whatever your gender and sexual orientation, you may well find curiously appealing.
Whip It is not about nefarious S&M practices, nor the art of patisserie, nor even dog racing - although it has trace elements of all of the above. Instead, Drew Barrymore's sweet and swaggering maiden trip as director is a confection set in the rough-and-tumble world of female roller derbies, at which rival teams hurtle around a curved rink like bats out of hell, inflicting grievous bodily harm on each other in the process. For those unversed in the finer points of the sport, the film helpfully explains these near the beginning. Basically, though, it involves "hot girls in fishnets beating the crap out of each other," a spectacle which, whatever your gender and sexual orientation, you may well find curiously appealing.
more Film
Fantastic Machine review - photography's story from one camera to 45 billion
Love it or hate it, the photographic image has ensnared us all
All You Need Is Death review - a future folk horror classic
Irish folkies seek a cursed ancient song in Paul Duane's impressive fiction debut
If Only I Could Hibernate review - kids in grinding poverty in Ulaanbaatar
Mongolian director Zoljargal Purevdash's compelling debut
The Book of Clarence review - larky jaunt through biblical epic territory
LaKeith Stanfield is impressively watchable as the Messiah's near-neighbour
Blu-ray/DVD: Priscilla
The disc extras smartly contextualise Sofia Coppola's eighth feature
Back to Black review - rock biopic with a loving but soft touch
Marisa Abela evokes the genius of Amy Winehouse, with a few warts minimised
Civil War review - God help America
A horrifying State of the Union address from Alex Garland
The Teachers' Lounge - teacher-pupil relationships under the microscope
Thoughtful, painful meditation on status, crime, and power
Blu-ray: Happy End (Šťastný konec)
Technically brilliant black comedy hasn't aged well
Evil Does Not Exist review - Ryusuke Hamaguchi's nuanced follow-up to 'Drive My Car'
A parable about the perils of eco-tourism with a violent twist
Io Capitano review - gripping odyssey from Senegal to Italy
Matteo Garrone's Oscar-nominated drama of two teenage boys pursuing their dream
The Trouble with Jessica review - the London housing market wreaks havoc on a group of friends
Matt Winn directs a glossy cast in a black comedy that verges on farce
Add comment