Whip It!

I think Ellen Page is one of the most talented actresses of her generation. She has delivered great performances in such films as X-Men: The Last Stand and Juno, which she was nominated for an Academy Award. And in her new movie, Whip It!, she as well as the movie are very good.
Page plays Bliss Cavendar, a misfit who constantly does beauty pageants to please her mother(Marcia Gay Harden) despite the fact she's not really into it. One day, she goes to Austin and sees a roller derby league competition and decides that this is what she wants to do. She joins a team called Hurl Scouts(whose members include Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore, Eve and Zoe Bell) and eventually becomes a popular star. Page does an excellent job in this movie and proves that she is one of the most talented young actresses in Hollywood. Other stand-out performances include Wiig as Maggie Mayhem, the leader of the Hurl Scouts who encourages Bliss to follow her dreams and Juliette Lewis as the arch rival Iron Maven. The other cast members(Barrymore, Eve, Bell, Jimmy Fallon, Harden, Daniel Stern and Alia Shawkat) deliver good performances as well. I also liked the relationship between Page and her parents(Harden and Stern) and I thought they had great scenes together. Drew Barrymore makes her directorial debut and I have to say I was very impressed with her. She does not only a great job directing her actors, but she also delivers great action scenes when it comes to the roller derby scenes. Overall I thought going in to it I would like it but I never expected to really love it like I did.

I give this movie 4 out of 5 Stars
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