Lest you think that Whip It is a gloomfest, the picture begins on a genial, crowd-pleasing note, and maintains a cheerful spirit throughout. Covered in shampoo, beauty pageant contestant Bliss Cavendar (Page) is unsuccessfully trying to wash a daring blue streak from her hair. Her best friend Pash (Alia Shawkat, a veteran from Arrested Development) playfully mocks her, her mother (Marcia Gay Harden, even more eloquent than usual) shakes her head in disappointment, and her little sister Shania (Eulala Scheel) is all set to supplant her on the pageant circuit. Bliss is quietly desperate to escape, her spirit suffocating in the tiny hamlet of Bodeen, Texas.
The first couple of scenes are scarily up-front about their puppy-dog desire to please; Bliss' streak of blue hair, for example, elicits not one, not two, but three double-takes from the pageant judges, and Barrymore the director can't help underlining each reaction. But then the background noise dies down, some rockin' music kicks in, and three tattooed ladies blow into a clothing store where Bliss and her mother are having an argument. Bliss can't help but stare as the women roll in, drop off some fliers, and roll back out, laughing gaily. Bliss is smitten; the film reboots.
The script by Shauna Cross, based on her novel of the same name, is informed by her own real-life experience as a roller girl. (Maggie Mayhem, played by Kristen Wiig, is based on Cross.) Even though it's often content to play to the bleachers, hitting lazy fly balls without hitting home runs -- if you'll forgive the baseball analogy -- the story tends to zag rather than zig, allowing for a pleasant upending of expectations.
Bliss may be desperate to escape, for example, but she's simultaneously beholden to the little town that seems to be hemming in her view of the world. Pash doesn't simply fade out once Bliss makes her fateful solo journey to Austin on a bingo bus; she's supportive while still pursuing her own goals. Bliss' father (Daniel Stern) loves her, her sister, and especially her mother, but he realizes that his wife has her faults, and he's figured out a way to keep her happy while not neglecting his own needs.
Surprisingly, though, an undercurrent of sadness flows freely among all the characters. Who knew there were so many different ways for people to be hurt, without anyone being tortured or killed? Barrymore's overriding message may be similar to the medical ethic: "First, do no harm," but it's closely followed by: "Second, have a good time." The Hurl Scouts, the team of misfits that eventually welcomes Bliss, is made up of women who have their own problems, yet have found a healthy way to vent their frustrations.
Barrymore herself takes on the role of Smashley Simpson, constantly lost in a fog but always ready to deliver a crack across an opponent's nose. Zoe Bell gets to do a few of her own skating stunts, and contributes an infectious spirit of enthusiasm. Kristen Wiig downplays nicely as the reasonable-minded Maggie Mayhem. Jimmy Fallon seems to have improvised all his lines as an announcer/Master of Ceremonies, so the laughter to dud ratio is about even.
The two real surprises come from Andrew Wilson as Razor, the picture of discouragement as the oft-ignored coach of the Hurl Scouts, a losing proposition if ever there was one. Wilson has been overshadowed by his more famous brothers, but he delivers just the right note of resilient frustration. And Juliette Lewis returns to the screen for the first time in three years as the baddest-ass player in the whole damn league, Iron Maven, happy to play dirty and rub it in. She gives only a hint of how much the game means to her, but that's enough to add volumes to a stock 'bad girl' role.
As a whole, Whip It is uneven and uncertainly paced. To be fair, it is Drew Barrymore's first feature as a director, and like most actors, she's a bit too eager to showcase performances, to give as many of the women as possible an opportunity to shine individually, at the expense of the overall narrative.
Still, I enjoyed the film more than I thought I might. It's the proverbial onion, revealing more and more layers the deeper you go. And, heck, I even shed a tear or two before the final bloody nose was smashed.
Not bad for a movie whose title has inspired me to start humming Devo again.
(Whip It opens today in the US and in Australia next weekend. More information is available at the official Fox Searchlight site.)