Whip It: An Undercover Gem
By Ethan Katz
If you were coming out or coming of age in the 2000s, the movie Whip It may ring a distant bell in your head. A severely underrated movie, the 2009 teen drama stars Elliot Page as Bliss Cavendar, a beauty pageant contestant turned roller derby star. Already from the synopsis and star, one can see how this might have become a classic among queer people — and the actual content certainly does not disappoint (for the most part).
Based on the 2007 Young Adult novel Derby Girl by Shauna Cross, Whip It marked Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut — another reason to tune in. The adaptation from the book is easful, confident, and raw, something that certainly can’t be said about all book to movie adaptations.
One of my favorite parts of Whip It is the movie’s commitment to showing the actual sport of roller derby. There’s something really fun and delicious about seeing actors such as Elliot Page, Drew Barrymore, and Kristen Wiig playing actual roller derby. It’s just delightful and feels so real, through the actual sport the stakes feel much less “staged” than in other movies. It’s one of the great appeals of sports movies. And the actors in Whip It truly appear to be having the time of their lives; their joy is contagious and the real selling point of this movie.
Unfortunately, Whip It does suffer at times from one of the great drawbacks of sports movies — heterosexuality. Despite the inherent gayness of roller derby (I mean, come on), there’s a bit too much boy drama in the movie for my taste. One of the great joys of roller derby and women’s sports in general is the lack of men, and the forced introduction of male love interests is truly one of the movies only disappointments. However, credit where credit is due — Barrymore did a fantastic job in making the relationships some of the characters have with men truly secondary. They inform the stakes of the main plotlines, Bliss’s relationship with her parents (played by Marcia Gay Harden and Daniel Stern) and her best friend, Pash (played by Alia Shawkat).
In addition to the fun of real sports in this movie, there are also some enjoyable celebrity cameos. The aforementioned Kristen Wiig is great, and Jimmy Fallon’s derby announcer is a laugh riot. The movie clocks in at a little under two hours, and certainly never feels like it’s dragging — if anything, the ending comes as a disappointment that we cannot watch any more (staged) celebrities playing roller derby.
Like other sports movies, Whip It is, at time, predictable — though there are still many surprises for me as a viewer, even on a rewatch. And despite it’s unfortunate occasionally heterosexuality, the film still feels like one of the gayest movies of our time, full to the brim of queer joy. Tuly. Grab some gay friends and watch this forgotten classic this Pride month (and beyond!) for a good time and lots of laughs. Full of strong female friendships, difficult yet real family relationships, and women actually supporting each other, Whip It is a really great time with something for everyone.
About the Author
Ethan Katz is third year at Oberlin College in Oberlin, OH, where he is studying creative writing & theater. He is grateful to have been introduced to the opportunity to write for Matthew’s Place through the Be a Friend Project.