Whip It

Roller Cool
Originally uploaded by jimkirks

Bliss Cavender is living in her mother’s shadow; a senior in high school and clearly not the beauty pageant type she obediently shuffles from pageant to pageant because her mother insists she can learn from it. However, on a trip to Austin Bliss discovers the world of roller derby and decides to try out; before she knows it Bliss is a Hurl Scout and has to lie to her team about her age and telling her parents she is spending her extra time at a SAT class. On the track Bliss and the Hurl Scouts are finally making a name for themselves and getting closer to taking down the Holy Rollers.

I can’t quite tell you how much I loved this movie, the best way I can sum it up is that when the credits rolled I was utterly proud to be a girl. From Bliss to Maggie Mayhem every type of modern woman is represented in Whip It and I think the reason this story is told so well is because it is made by a woman.

Drew Barrymore makes her directorial debut with Whip It and I hope she gets a chance for an encore. While Whip It has some flaws in the editing of the action sequences (which are hard even in a seasoned director’s hands), Barrymore proves she truly is the Hollywood sponge that you would think she is. This is a woman whose heritage is movies, from her family to her earliest jobs she had the masters of cinema surrounding her and she paid attention. What is so incredible about Whip It is that the performances are perfectly executed and captured; this is not an Oscar-bait kind of movie but from Daniel Stern to Alia Shawkat, every performance in the film is spot-on and delivered by actors that trusted their director and a director that knew how to get them to the core of their character.

Perhaps I have a soft spot for Barrymore but my single favorite character was Smashley Simpson. It is hard for a long time actor to take the reins as a director and act in their own movie; some overextend themselves and give themselves to big a part. I am glad to say Barrymore didn’t do this. She gave herself a supporting role with Smashley Simpson, the tempestuous team captain of the Hurl Scouts. Smashley is the most memorable character in Whip It, she has the best lines, the most memorable moments and might be my favorite Barrymore character.

Whip It is a movie that won’t have a lot of longevity in terms of box office, but it will grow a following quite steadily, especially on DVD. This is a film with heart, wit, and whimsy. The film is a cult film in the making and makes me want to try my own had at the world of roller derby.

Director: Drew Barrymore
Writer: Shauna Cross
Bliss Cavender: Ellen Page
Pash: Alia Shawkat
Brooke Cavender: Marcia Gay Harden
Shania Cavender: Eulala Scheel
Earl Cavender: Daniel Stern
Johnny Rocket: Jimmy Fallon
Maggie Mayhem: Kristen Wiig
Bloody Holly: Zoe Bell
Smashley Simpson: Drew Barrymore
Razor: Andrew Wilson
Iron Maven: Juliette Lewis

Razor: Yeah, let's celebrate mediocrity! That's fantastic.

The First Wives Club

Part of me wants to be able to say that The First Wives Club is a silly, stupid movie that is really just brain candy – but I can’t. I love this movie; I think it is a genuinely good movie with entertaining and appealing comedy that does not get stale. I will admit that The First Wives Club probably plays better to women, but I am a woman so there’s no problem there.

The First Wives Club is about three women – Brenda, Elise & Annie – all three of whom have been left by their first husbands. They were close in college but let post-college life help grow them apart until their other college friend Cynthia commits suicide on the day that her recently ex-husband gets remarried. The tragedy brings the three women back into each others lives and as they discover that their marital situations are so similar they decide to band together and form the first wives club and be the wives that just won’t take being left standing while their husbands chase their more youthful replacement. Together they dig out the dirt on their exes and make the men rue the day they traded in their first wives.

The reason The First Wives Club works as well as it does is the three lead actresses that helm it – Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler & Diane Keaton. These women are not only phenomenal actresses in their own right but they have a divine chemistry together that really makes their friendship genuine and complete. Goldie is gloriously funny as Elise the actress obsessed with youth and delivers some of my favorite lines in the film; Bette is divine as Brenda the Jewish mother who just wants her son to be happy but tries not to meddle too much; Diane is perfect the compulsive and quirky Annie who is newly adjusting to the news that her college age daughter is a lesbian.

However, the supporting cast in this movie is just as beautifully cast as the main roles you have Maggie Smith, Victor Garber, Marcia Gay Harden, Rob Reiner and more. Everywhere you turn there are actors and entertainment personalities that you see all over television and film. When this movie was put together they spared no chance to put a good recognizable actor in the right role.

I do think that The First Wives Club is a film that can be enjoyed by almost anyone. I also highly recommend it for any girls night in.

Director: Hugh Wilson
Writer: Robert Harling
Brenda Cushman: Bette Midler
Elise Elliot: Goldie Hawn
Annie Paradis: Diane Keaton
Gunilla Garson Goldberg: Maggie Smith
Morton Cushman: Dan Hedaya
Shelly Stewart: Sarah Jessica Parker
Cynthia Swann Griffin: Stockard Channing
Bill Atchison: Victor Garber
Aaron Paradis: Stephen Collins
Phoebe: Elizabeth Berkley
Dr. Rosen: Marcia Gay Harden
Duarto Feliz: Bronson Pinchot
Brett Artounian: Timothy Olyphant

Brenda: My Morty becomes this big shot on T.V... He was selling electronics, right? On our 20th wedding anniversary it hits midlife crisis major. He starts working out, he, he grows a moustache, he gets an earring. I said, "Morty, Morty, what are you? A pirate? what's next? A parrot?" And all of a sudden I'm a big drag. I'm holding him back because I won't go rollerblading.