Whip it (2009)

Whip it (dir. Drew Barrymore) is known to be something of a feminist movie for teenagers (and older teenagers). Well -. Maybe it suffices to have a female protogonist who is involved in a tough sport to call the film feminist (considering the stale activity most young girls in American movies mostly are immersed in: drooling over a boy). And maybe it is fair to say that the film was a funny way to delve into alternative culture and the angst of kids living outside the big city (in this case, Austin, Texas) and who work in a crappy joint and who don't know what to do with their lives. We first see the main character, Bliss, charmingly played by Ellen Paige, lolling about in a beauty pageant, cheered by her mother, for whom this seems to be the most important thing in the world. The girl has other ideas about what is important in life, and it is on this tension the film builds - the conflicts between children and parents. Even though Whip it mostly follows the trajectory of the typical teenage and sports movies (problem ---> resolution, a lie --> the big revelation) it is a cheerful film that presents a different image of a girl's life than being pretty and appearing more stupid than one really is in order to please a boy's indulgent psyche. Roller derby is a raunchy sport and the film shows how this sport is much more complex than scoring points (the film touches on the subject of class and age differences, the players being in their thirties and mostly from bluecollar backgrounds). It's the small details that made me like the film: American Analog Set is played on the car stereo and the director has had the imagination to make Bliss' mother a postal worker. A thing like that.