There are two kinds of first-time directors. There are the directors who have a vision, a story that is wrapped up in the tangles of their mind waiting to be presented via the medium of motion pictures. Then there are the directors who do it just because it seems the thing to do. They either admire the glamour and glory that comes from the profession and they want a taste, or they are already in the business and feel it is time for them to transition into the big chair. Judging by the new film, ‘Whip It,’ Drew Barrymore is in that latter of the latter choice, a first-time director who has worn a number of other hats in the industry and felt it was time to make her move. However, despite the force of an inventive story and commendable performances, that move she makes doesn’t seem to get her very far along the track.
Ellen Page plays Bliss Cavendar, a small-town, Texas girl whose mother, played by Marcia Gay Harden, wants nothing more for her daughter than to see her become a success. Bliss has other interests, namely indie rock and grunge boots. So, you can imagine how quickly Bliss jumps at the chance when she discovers a roller derby league in nearby Austin. Bliss joins the team, convincing her mother her late nights are spent at an SAT class. It isn’t long before Bliss is a rookie of the year of sorts, and she must choose between living her own life and giving in to the desires of her mother.
Nothing in the film moves smoothly, and, unfortunately, some of the blame does rest with the screenplay by Shauna Cross who is adapting her own novel here. That aspect of the film is purely adequate, and Cross never succeeds in pulling off as much inventiveness in the story arcs as she does the overall narrative. The film is really two stories in one, one about a girl learning to live her own life and the other a typical sports movie where the ending can follow one of two paths. While the idea of roller derby has never been done in this way before, there is just something about Cross’ screenplay that cries stale. You never get the sense of originality that you probably should.
‘Whip It’ is a film full of distractions. Most of them come from Barrymore and her direction. There’s no style. It all seems put together in a flurry of stand-alone shots. Let’s just say, she’s anything but erudite when it comes to the craft. There is noticeably very little in the way of vision with Barrymore’s direction, and it seems you could stump the actress-turned-director by asking her for many of the film’s shots reasons for being. The film holds on awkward expressions, actors looking blankly just off camera, and goofy antics that just seemed to happen between the times she said “Action” and “Cut.” Any level of fluidity goes right out the window the moment we sense there’s no point in what we are seeing, and, unfortunately, this happens far too often with this film.
Not even the “actiony” roller derby scenes seem to have much flow. Made up of choppy bits that make it progressively more difficult to tell who is who, it ends up coming off like Michael Bay directing battling robots. It doesn’t matter that the teams are wearing completely different colors. It is still difficult to tell what is going on. Much like the remainder of the film, the roller derby scenes in ‘Whip It’ give gawk a whole new meaning. Barrymore’s direction is an oaf, lumbering around the screenplay, which, in comparison, seems downright rigorous.
To that end, it does seem that most of the people involved in the film were having a fun time of it. Most of the cast members breeze through their respective roles without much effort, particularly Ellen Page who can play this kind of rebellious teen in her sleep. Gay Harden and Daniel Stern do justice to their roles as Bliss’ parents, though Gay Harden’s role is wholly thankless and it’s a foregone conclusion that Stern can play clueless without issue. Alia Shawkat plays Pash, Bliss’ best friend, who has a bit more wit than your typical, sidekick role. As the team, Barrymore plays stoner Smashley Simpson, Eve plays the muscle Rosa Sparks, and Zoe Bell plays Bloody Holly each with their own level of sufficiency. No one really stands out, not even Kristen Wiig as Maggie Mayhem, who has probably the deepest character arc found in the film. Andrew Wilson nearly steels the show as Razor, the coach, Juliette Lewis plays bitchy well as the leader of a rival team, and singer/songwriter Landon Pigg plays Bliss’ new love interest, a character, who, unfortunately, is destined to go only one of one direction. The less said about Jimmy Fallon’s annoying performance as the MC of the roller derby, the better.
Never allowing itself much style or sense of vision, ‘Whip It’ is a film whose movement seemed stifled at the concept stage. Cross had a vision with her novel, and, unfortunately, lackluster screenwriting and a complete lack of experienced filmmaking came together to create something that, sadly, falls noticeably short of its goals. It’s a shame really. You see what the film was trying to do, you recognize its end-point, but, like a spectator cheering on a losing team, you know all the effort and good nature in the world can’t make up for poor craftsmanship. You want to root a movie like ‘Whip It’ on, but desire for something to be good only gets you so far. Unfortunately, what is at work here just doesn’t get it any further.
