I suppose one shouldn't expect the world from a coming-of-age roller derby movie directed by Drew Barrymore, and in fact, the world is exactly what we do not get with Whip It. Yet, from its somewhat Godardian opening title, the film was already giving more than this critic expected. Quite fun and full of a slew of amiably bravura performances - especially from Juliette Lewis and Marcia Gay Harden - Whip It actually managed to surprise me a bit.
My review - at my main site, The Cinematheque - mentions (or perhaps harps on) the fact that there is absolutely nothing new in Whip It. What you see is what you get. But the performances, as well as a certain genre giddiness, make the film worth more than the sum of its parts. Or would that be the sum of its parts are greater than the whole? Who knows...
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