"Whip It" - not to be confused with DEVO

Whip It is a drama/comedy film based on the Shauna Cross novel Derby Girl. Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page, X-Men: The Last Stand, Juno) is being forced to enter beauty pageants just because her parents Brooke (Marcia Gay Harden, Flubber, Meet Joe Black, Mona Lisa Smile) and Earl (Daniel Stern, Home Alone, Dilbert) want her to. She works at a local diner with her best friends Pash (Alia Shawkat, Rebound, Arrested Development) and "Birdman" (Carlo Alban, Sesame Street). But one day, she decides to sneak out and without her parents knowing, she lies about her age so she can play roller derby. She goes by the name "Babe Ruthless" and joins the "Hurl Scouts" team, including "Maggie Mayhem" (Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live, Knocked Up, Extract, Adventureland, Forgetting Sarah Marshall), "Smashley Simpson" (Drew Barrymore, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, He's Just Not That Into You, Never Been Kissed, Donnie Darko, Scream, etc.) "Rosa Sparks" (Eve, Glee, xXx), and "Bloody Holly"(Zoë Bell, Inglourious Basterds, Gamer, Kill Bill, Xena: Warrior Princess). Their main rival is the "Holy Rollers" team, namely Iron Maven (Juliette Lewis, Starsky and Hutch, Cape Fear) and Eva Destruction (Ari Graynor, The Sopranos, Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist, Fringe, and the upcoming Youth in Revolt). But what happens when Pash is nearly arrested and Bliss doesn't stick up for her, her parents find out about this, and her team finds out that she is only 17?

I was blown away by this film. Forget what I said about I Can Do Bad All By Myself, Whip It is my new favorite film of 2009, and possibly one of the best films I've ever seen. It has a strong female character who is the opposite of a female stereotype - I mean, she declines the opportunity to join a beauty pageant to play a sport. They immediately accept her, and she has a lot of fun with them. Many films with female leads nowadays just have a female lead as a huge fashion-obsessed stereotype (Confessions of a Shopaholic, anyone?) or who is simply there to wear skimpy clothes and be what we call the "fanservice" girl (like Megan Fox in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Jennifer's Body) or both (practically the whole cast of Sex and the City) or, while not so bad, just for a love interest (The Proposal, My Life in Ruins, The Ugly Truth, etc.) But there comes a rare gem where the female lead is strong and either independent, the decision-making type, or enjoying her surroundings that don't involve fashion, dating, and sex. This year, we had some examples, such as My Sister's Keeper, Post Grad, Julie & Julia, and even Monsters vs. Aliens. In Whip It, the female lead is strong, both physically and mentally. She does have a love interest in Oliver (Landon Pigg, this being his film debut), but he doesn't take up that much screen time. She does wear skimpy clothes at times, but do you really think she is going to be fully clothed during a sport like this? The ending is not what I expected at all.

The film scored a well-deserved PG-13 rating. Drug use consists of some underage drinking (Bliss lied about her age, she is 17 but said she was 22) and Pash nearly gets arrested for holding a beer when the police are around. A lot of people of varying ages drink while watching matches. As for sexuality - as mentioned before, people wear skimpy clothes, but it's not for erotic effect. However, the announcer Johnny (Jimmy Fallon, Saturday Night Live/Weekend Update) makes many sexual jokes, including "a sequel in his pants" (which is "Spider-Man Three and a half inches wide"), and a sign that says "Call Me: STD Free". Bliss and Oliver do strip at the bottom of the pool, but there is no full nudity and we don't see the actual stripping. Since the film is about roller derby, you can bet your bottom dollar there is violence, and Smashley Simpson gets a bloody face in one scene. There are a few s-words as well.

Another excellent film that deserves my recommendation, especially if you're looking for a good film with a strong female role.