Whip It!

It was great. Just like I thought it would be.

I heard a sort of dull review on NPR — not focused, story line wanders. I saw Whip It last night and I didn’t think so at all.

It was a glorious celebration of the desire in some of us alterna girls, women to break the gender specific molds. It was a tribute to working class iconoclasts. It tread truly cool, low brow, broke-ass ( and I mean that in a good way) territory with no embarassment. It was on the mark, completely open, and heartwarming just like Drew Barrymore.

Think about it. Someone tells you there is a creative project involving Ellen Page, Marcia Gay Harden, Juliet Lewis, Kirstin Wigg, helmed by Drew Barrymore. How bad could it be? Everyone, all the wonderful women, the men were great. The roller derby was raucous.

The sentiments were spot on.

It went were many films have gone in the story department –coming of age, breaking away from parental expectations, first love and broken hearts — but it was absolutely a new fresh take on the old themes.

Ellen Page is so special. All the women are special and that comes across too.

One critic complained about having so many characters, said they weren’t well developed. Get over it.

Whip It takes us into a sweet microcosm of girlie, misfit rebelliousness. Dig It!

Like a  good book this film had me in it’s spell. The world it created was oh so funky.

Though the setting was meant to be Texas and Austin it was filmed in Detroit, Michigan. That’s real cool of Drew, too. Bring some alterna Hollywood dollars to a town that can really use them.

I loved the grunge. I loved the warehouse exterior with the small glass paneled windows.

Industrialist ephemera.

I loved the funky old muso-boy band house with the smog-gray shag carpeting in the attic listening room.

I loved that Drew Barrymore’s character, Smashly Simpson, was a brawling clutz. I loved the women’s long tresses with Manic Panic highlights, the piercings, the tattoos and especially the ratty girlie drag of altered girl scout uniforms, school girl plaid mini skirts, tights, tits and lots of eyeliner.