Whip It (2009)

In Bodeen, Texas, an indie-rock loving misfit finds a way of dealing with her small-town misery after she discovers a roller derby league in nearby Austin.

Director:

Drew Barrymore

Writers:

Shauna Cross (screenplay), Shauna Cross (novel)

Stars:

Ellen Page, Drew Barrymore, Kristen Wiig

8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sarah Habel	...	Corbi
Shannon Eagen	...	Amber
Edward Austin Kelly	...	Pageant Coordinator
Mary Callaghan Lynch	...	Val
Ellen Page	...	Bliss Cavendar
Jimmy Fallon	...	'Hot Tub' Johnny Rocket
Alia Shawkat	...	Pash
Marcia Gay Harden	...	Brooke Cavendar
Barbara Coven	...	Pageant Mother
Eulala Scheel	...	Shania Cavendar
Nina Kircher	...	Trudy
Daniel Stern	...	Earl Cavendar
Mark Boyd	...	Ronny
Carlo Alban	...	Birdman
Douglas Minckiewicz	...	Colby (as Doug Minckewicz)

Storyline

In a town near Austin, Bliss Cavendar's strong-willed mom believes Bliss, at 17, can win pageants - the key to a happy life. Bliss isn't the beauty pageant type: she's shy, quiet, and has just one friend, Pash, her fellow waitress at a diner. Things change for Bliss when she discovers a women's roller derby league in Austin, tries out, proves to be whip fast, and makes a team. Now she needs to become someone tough on the rink, keep her parents from finding out where she goes twice a week, and do something about a first crush, on a musician she meets at the derby. Meanwhile, mom still sees Bliss as Miss Bluebonnet. Things are on a collision course; will everyone get banged up?

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Plot Keywords:

pageant | friend | beauty pageant | texas | roller derby | 

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Taglines:

Be Your Own Hero

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Genres:

Drama | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual content including crude dialogue, language and drug material

Details

Official Sites:

Fox Searchlight [United States] Official Facebook [France]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 October 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Derby Girl

Filming Locations:

Michigan, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$4,650,812 (USA) (2 October 2009)

Gross:

$13,034,417 (USA) (4 December 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mandate Pictures, Vincent Pictures, Flower Films (II)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the beginning of the film Bliss says she would have dinner with Amelia Earhart, in the DVD version one of the trailers is the movie 'Amelia' staring Hilary Swank.

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Goofs

In the food fight scene, Iron Maven throws a french fry onto Bliss' face. Bliss pulls the fry off leaving a smear of ketchup and then tosses banana cream pie at Iron Maven. When Maven retaliates by dumping a chocolate shake onto Bliss' head, the fry is back on her face.

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Quotes

Iron Maven: Nice jump, Evel Knievel.
Bliss Cavendar: Thanks. Maybe I'll teach it to you some time.
Iron Maven: [a little surprised] Really?
Bliss Cavendar: Yeah.
Iron Maven: [smiles] Okay.

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Crazy Credits

Bloopers run during closing credits.

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Connections

Referenced in Brief Film Reviews: My DVD/Blu-Ray Collection (2010)

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Soundtracks

Know How
Written by Matt Dike, Isaac Hayes, John King (as John Robert King), Michael Simpson (as Michael S. Simpson) and Marvin Young
Performed by Marvin Young (as Young MC)
Courtesy of Delicious Vinyl

User Reviews

Drew Barrymore did this one very well...

I attended a screening of this on Wednesday night (the 9th) with a Q&A with Drew after the movie. This movie was superb. It was done very well. I really liked the score and the music selection (from Peaches to MGMT) was amazing. The story is really good and so realistic...it wasn't cheap. Drew said she wanted to direct this movie because it was close to her heart, and you can tell it is because of the final product. You can tell she put a lot of effort into this one. Ellen Page and Marcia Gay Harden were GREAT in this! I loved every scene they were in together...(btw, Drew was REALLY nice and answered my question). Kristen Wiig, Juliette Lewis, Drew, Landon Pigg, and the young lady who plays Bliss's best friend Pash (I forget this actress's name) were wonderful. There is everything in this movie...romance, drama, mild humorous violence, and comedy. The film also explained the sport of roller derbying very well. Good research Drew! My final rating: 9.5/10 GO SEE IT!