I still remember when I first saw Drew Barrymore. She was but a wee little lass starring as Henry Thomas’ little sister in the ‘little known’ film “E.T.: The Extraterrestrial.” She made a huge impression on me, as well as the millions of people who ‘didn’t’ see the movie as being so darn cute. Well, over the years, Barrymore seemed to be following in the footsteps of her famous family as her very young life began to be wracked by drugs and God knows what all. Her few appearances in films were lackluster and most of us considered her as has-been at, like 11. But times change, and as she grew up it appears she grew up. Yes, she continued to be a bit wacky and still does…. but she has successfully overcome her past to star in several pretty good films, she produces movies and has now finally directed her first feature film, “Whip It.” My first thought when I heard her first movie involved women’s roller derby I kind of rolled my eyes, thinking about the roller derby girls I’ve met over the years.

Especially roller derby as it is nowadays. But I thought I might as well give it a chance, after all I’ve yet to see Ellen Page in a movie I did not like.

Speaking of Ellen Page, after her amazing performance in “Hard Candy,” I’ve made it a point to see all of her films. She’s a very strong actress, though I will admit that her recent roles are starting to run together. I’m curious to see if she begins to evolve as an actress and will perhaps stretch into different types of characters. Here she stars as Bliss Cavendar, a small town Texas girl wasting her life away as a waitress at a local dive. Her mother (Marcia Gay Harden) forces her to compete in ‘beauty contests’, because… as most mothers of this sort are… she’s insane. It’s a life that Bliss doesn’t want and she is desperately looking for a way out. Until the day that she learns about roller derby. After sneaking out to attend a game, she realizes that is where she wants to be. She is able to get on the local team, hiding it from her mother.

The synopsis for “Whip It” sounds rather formulaic, what with the protagonist wanting a life other than what their parents are forcing on them. And in many ways, the film is very formulaic. However, formulaic doesn’t always equal bad. It’s a bit of an underdog movie mixed with a coming of age movie, and if done well it can be an entertaining watch. For a first time director, Barrymore as done it well. “Whip it” was a fun and inspiring movie, not as inspiring as say, “Rocky”… but the combination of the slightly hip script, great character acting and solid directing kept my wife and I watching and cheering in all the right places. Oh, I groaned at some of the ridiculous skater names, but I know some real world monikers that made these sound tame.

20th Century Fox has released a decent Bluray release, at least in terms of the video and audio transfer. “Whip It” has kind of a grunge look to it, so there wasn’t a lot of sharp imagery or a strong color palette to feature. I’m honestly not sure how the DVD edition would compare, but I’m all about Blurays now anyway. The audio is at its best during some of the derby competitions, but again it’s kept simple and clean. Dialogue was always clear and easy to hear.

Where I was a little disappointed was in the features. All I found were some deleted scenes and a very short featurette about the author. Being that this was Barrymore’s directorial debut, I think a commentary or interview would have been appropriate, and considering her aforementioned wackiness… quite entertaining. But alas… nothing.

“Whip It” was a very pleasant surprise.

Directed by: Drew Barrymore
Starring: Ellen Page, Marcia Gay Harden, Kristin Wiig, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis, Jimmy Fallon, Daniel Stern
Extras: Deleted Scenes; Fox Movie Channel Presents – “Writer’s Draft: Shauna Cross of Whip It”; Digital Copy
Specification: Widescreen (2.40:1); 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: 2/2/2010
MPAA Rating: PG-13
http://www.foxbluray.com

We'll give Whip It (Bluray) a B.