Jason KingWhip It ($11-)
October 8th 2009 08:52
:
Drew Barrymore's Directorial Debut
Category: No Category
Whip It ($11-)
Drew Barrymore makes her directorial debut with this female-friendly action-comedy. JUNO's Ellen Page stars as Bliss Cavendar, a young woman who longs to break free of her small-town bonds by joining the rough-and-tumble sport of roller derby in nearby Austin, Texas.
For a directorial debut from Drew Barrymore it is not too bad. It is a chick flick that guys will enjoy, a given for something from Drew Barrymore however it is incredibly weak on its direction and I found a lot of the characters so flat it was like they were run over by rollerskates. She manages to get a cast of great talent that hold the film together but you can see Page required more direction for her character.
Drew also acts in the film as a roller chick on Bliss's team but she basically plays one of her crazy characters we have seen before, the stoner, dumb chick. I wish she stayed out of this one and spent more time concentrating on the direction. She did however manage to capture the essence, or what I believe would be the essence, of Roller Derby. A lot of people take some BIG hits and I found this fun to watch, the sicko I am
. I was also stoked to see Juliette Lewis in a film, still looking great, as the psycho opponent of Bliss.
I really enjoyed the love interest and it's storyline that Bliss has with band member, Oliver played by Landon Pigg. He is so cute in a grungie emo rockstar way. It was the most beautiful make out and "cut short" sex scene underwater in a pool. I thought Bliss deserved this love but to then cliche it away and turn him into a root rat rockstar really disappointed me - I just did not see the need for it.
Kristen Wiig is a pleasure to watch as Maggie Mayhem and the fact she was a roller derby veteran who also went home afterwards to look after her son, who is shocking with his acting, was heartfelt and motherly. The cinemtography on the roller ring was handled really well and you could feel yourself amongst it sometimes.
I think I am in two minds on this one - there is so much I did not like about the film but also a lot I did like and while the first half an hour is ioncredibly boring the film finishes with a bang. The film could be considered art house as none of the characters are overplayed or glossed over. They all seem like they could be real people. I have heard this film described as Juno with Roller Skates and what a crock of crap that is. Just because Ellen Page is in it does not make it Juno - she has absoultely none of that scorching witt that made her famous and a few people might spin out at the un Hollywoodness of this film but a lot of others may love it for that. I heard a reviewer give it 9 out of 10 this morning and was expecting this myself but it got nowhere near being that good.
Wow - you can really tell I am a Gemini in this review - still undecided but worth a viewing - it is better than a few others out at the moment. Started today and worth $11-
Drew Barrymore makes her directorial debut with this female-friendly action-comedy. JUNO's Ellen Page stars as Bliss Cavendar, a young woman who longs to break free of her small-town bonds by joining the rough-and-tumble sport of roller derby in nearby Austin, Texas.
For a directorial debut from Drew Barrymore it is not too bad. It is a chick flick that guys will enjoy, a given for something from Drew Barrymore however it is incredibly weak on its direction and I found a lot of the characters so flat it was like they were run over by rollerskates. She manages to get a cast of great talent that hold the film together but you can see Page required more direction for her character.
Drew also acts in the film as a roller chick on Bliss's team but she basically plays one of her crazy characters we have seen before, the stoner, dumb chick. I wish she stayed out of this one and spent more time concentrating on the direction. She did however manage to capture the essence, or what I believe would be the essence, of Roller Derby. A lot of people take some BIG hits and I found this fun to watch, the sicko I am
. I was also stoked to see Juliette Lewis in a film, still looking great, as the psycho opponent of Bliss.
I really enjoyed the love interest and it's storyline that Bliss has with band member, Oliver played by Landon Pigg. He is so cute in a grungie emo rockstar way. It was the most beautiful make out and "cut short" sex scene underwater in a pool. I thought Bliss deserved this love but to then cliche it away and turn him into a root rat rockstar really disappointed me - I just did not see the need for it.
Kristen Wiig is a pleasure to watch as Maggie Mayhem and the fact she was a roller derby veteran who also went home afterwards to look after her son, who is shocking with his acting, was heartfelt and motherly. The cinemtography on the roller ring was handled really well and you could feel yourself amongst it sometimes.
I think I am in two minds on this one - there is so much I did not like about the film but also a lot I did like and while the first half an hour is ioncredibly boring the film finishes with a bang. The film could be considered art house as none of the characters are overplayed or glossed over. They all seem like they could be real people. I have heard this film described as Juno with Roller Skates and what a crock of crap that is. Just because Ellen Page is in it does not make it Juno - she has absoultely none of that scorching witt that made her famous and a few people might spin out at the un Hollywoodness of this film but a lot of others may love it for that. I heard a reviewer give it 9 out of 10 this morning and was expecting this myself but it got nowhere near being that good.
Wow - you can really tell I am a Gemini in this review - still undecided but worth a viewing - it is better than a few others out at the moment. Started today and worth $11-
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