Film critics love to use the word “formulaic” to describe hackneyed, boring and predictable movies. But a formula's not such a terrible thing, at least not if the end result is as enjoyable as Whip It, a by-the-numbers comedy that still manages to be sunny, sweet and empowering.
Ellen Page stars as Bliss Cavendar, a 17-year-old Texas girl who's chafing under the beauty-pageant tutelage of her lovingly backward mom (Marcia Gay Harden) and shlumpy dad (Daniel Stern). She works side-by-side with her best friend, Pash (Arrested Development's Alia Shawkat), at a barbecue spot called the Oink Joint, rebels in small ways, like dying her hair blue right before a pageant to her mother's tight-lipped dismay, and is somewhat resigned to life in her nowhere town—until she discovers the female roller derby scene.
In the manner of such films, Bliss quickly (and I do mean quickly) discovers that she's a natural talent, which is especially awesome since -- wow! -- she's just in time for tryouts and -- hey! -- she immediately gets a spot on the Hurl Scouts, alongside players Maggie Mayhem (Kristin Wiig), Smashley Simpson (first-time director Drew Barrymore), Rosa Spark (hip-hop singer Eve) and Bloody Holly (stuntwoman/Deathproof star Zoe Bell). Newly christened with the name Babe Ruthless, Bliss hides her new passion from her parents while becoming a rookie sensation.
Barrymore hits every dramatic cliché along the way, but in a likable enough manner. Bliss falls for a cute boy, and ends up putting her her friendship with Pash at risk by dallying with him when Pash needs her the most. Naturally, the big beauty pageant in which her mom expects her to compete falls on the very same night as the big championship match, while her nemesis from another team, Iron Maven (Juliette Lewis) threatens to tell the league that Bliss is under age.
All of this plays out exactly as you think it will, but it's so charming and fun that it's less like trudging along tired old ground than it is like listening to a beloved oldies song -- there's a little Breaking Away here, a smidge of Rocky, a dash of A League of Their Own, all updated with a modern post-Juno sensibility. Barrymore has a deft hand with actors and comedy, although the action scenes on the derby track are a bit more problematic, with everything playing so slow as to betray the actors' limited skating skills.
Really, a formula's not so bad. And considering that the young women who'll most enjoy this flick are too young to know how many times this story's been told before, Whip It works as a sweet, fun movie that serves up girl power with a lot of sass.