Lack of good storyline.

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Inspiring movie! Sure the direction is not great, the scenario isn't very original but it gives you joy. For one time that girls aren't stereotypical it feels good. There's something poetic in this womanhood. I love it because it's empowering and if you don't like this movie you hate women. Fact.

Every time an actor or actress directs their first movie, they fail. Except for Ben Affleck.What's wrong with this film: It's just another clichéd sports movie: The main character wants to do a sport but her parents forbid her, so she secretly does the sports behind their backs. The team don't like her and bully her, but warm up to her later. Main character's parents discover she's doing the sport and get her out of the team just when the big championship is coming up. Main character does a motivational speech to make her parents put her back in the team, it works. Main character joins the team just in time to take part in the championship, we've seen this many times.Ellen Page is the same sarcastic character she always is and Zoe Bell can't act. However, it was nice to see Drew play a different character than the one she usually plays. In this film, she plays a wild woman who's is all brawn but no brain.And for the hundredth time, we seen the "friends fall out" cliché.

Whip It was a movie I wanted to like more than I did... The storyline was a little bit twee and predictable, with all of the 'small-town underdog' sports clichés... but, on the other hand, first-time director Drew Barrymore's handling of things is as charming as Barrymore herself seems to be... so, if you don't mind predictability, like roller derby, and just want a non-taxing feelgood film, then this could be it...It has a great soundtrack, too, so that's in its favour.Barrymore seems to be fond of fairy tales, so if you like miraculous yet never less than wholesome transformations, and inspirational sloganeering such as "Be Your Own Hero!", then this will probably suit you a treat... It's not that I'm against those things, it's just that these warm fuzzies sometimes come at the expense of teaching you about the realities of life... but, if you've seen "Never Been Kissed" before and enjoyed it, then at least you'll know the type of thing to expect.

I'm a fairly recent convert to roller derby having found it an excellent spectator sport: simple rules, fast pace, exciting showdowns and a good balance between grace and power. So I was really looking forward to this movie and it took me some effort to get my mitts on a copy.And it's not actually bad as such; Ellen Page is cuter than a thousand Ewoks, the score is good and Barrymore is always a treat. I don't even mind the utter predictability, that's just how some movies roll, no pun intended.But it never really gripped me. The comparison to a masterpiece like Bend It Like Beckham may be a bit unfair but it's inevitable as Whip It is an almost 1:1 rip-off. But where Jess is a plausible footballer, Bliss ("Bliss"? Really?) is just not believable. She never makes us understand why she's attracted to roller derby, except as an escape from her over-the-top horrible parents and she never really manages to make the transition from meek mommy's girl to bad-ass rollergirl, not even when she pulls the ultimate empowerment trick and takes off her glasses. Her nick, Babe Ruthless remains a joke.It also remains a mystery how she suddenly becomes the fastest thing on eight wheels. There's no Rocky theme, no real struggle, it just happens. One moment she Bambi on roller skates, the next she's flying like the wind. Same thing with her team. One moment they are losers, the next moment they are kicking ass. How did that come about? Oh yeah, they suddenly decide to listen to the weirdo posing as a coach.So, at least this movie has some smoking derby action? Well, not really. I've seen more exiting footage on my local team's website and without the fistfights and the gutter moves too. And I'm from Copenhagen, for heavens sake!