It’s such a pleasure to catch up on a movie you’d wanted to see ages ago and discover that it was well worth it.
Whip It, starring Ellen Page as Bliss Cavendar A.K.A. Babe Ruthless, a small town girl who discovers roller derby, is so many good things. It’s a fantastic feel good sports movie. It’s a sweet coming of age story about the relationship between a 17 year old girl and her parents. And best of all, it’s a female-centric film that doesn’t indulge in any frustrating female stereotypes.
The women in the movie are plentiful and varied and the depictions of female friendships are fantastic and real. As Bliss and her best friend Pash approach the end of high school, they are poised on the verge of adult womanhood. Of course this coming of age story isn’t really about traditional milestones. Graduating and going to college, getting a boyfriend and having sex, and moving away from home are all part of life at that stage, but those aren’t really what the movie’s about. Instead, for Babe Ruthless womanhood is really about finding something that you’re good at, something that makes you happy and then following that bliss.
If you missed it, Whip It is absolutely worth the trip to the video store (or in my case the library). It’s one of those rare gems that not only tells a great story about teens, but just tells a great story about people, some of whom are seventeen.
Actually that’s worth emphasizing. Whip It celebrates growing up by reminding us that there’s not a whole lot of difference between youth an adult. Not only does Bliss come of age in her own way by joining a roller derby team, she comes of age into a community of women who don’t see her as a teenager, but as a peer.
