Whip It ***

This is one of those films I wouldn't urge you to go and see, but I also wouldn't want to stop you from seeing it. Based around a girl in a small time town, this film focuses on her trying to escape and be a little more adventurous by taking part in a contact roller skating game. A bit random?

Ellen Page (the pregnant girl from Juno) again plays one of those indie type characters, and I guess this is an indie type film. But it's not the independent cinema like Lars Von Trier, its this fashionable indie that's actually quite mainstream but includes lots of vintage things and scene people so it makes it a little more alternative. Plus, it has one of those soundtracks with bands only cool people have heard of. Obviously, I was singing along to every song... (Or was singing along to Katy Perry stuck in my head)

This is Drew Barrymore's directing debut and she does know how to make a film. There's nothing particularly original or exciting about the cinematography but it's easy to follow and the settings are pretty good. She's made a film that really you can just sit back and take in. Although, it does become a little boring and you begin to lose interest in the characters a bit. Not because its repetitive or slow, but because this isn't a very exciting film. You can imagine it's going to be on Channel 4 a few times to fill in a couple of hours.

The only thing that does make this film a little more interesting is the uniqueness of the story. Whip It's quite metrosexual in the fact that the story could appeal to both genders. It's not particularly girlie but not masculine either. The women aren't your usual stereotypes as they're quite butch, and the lead female is very independent. Yet there's still a romantic lead and a dramatic climax that all women love to watch in films. And the fact that it's based around a brutal sport makes it more exciting than a rom-com.

Some of the characters are quite amusing too. We've got Drew Barrymore playing Smashley Simpson, Kristen Wiig playing Maggie Mayhem and Juliette Lewis playing Iron Maven. These three together, plus the other roller skaters make quite a female power team and are endearing to watch I guess. They haven't been glamorised either which is a nice break away from perfection on the screens.

So overall, this is pretty average. It's not good or bad, it's just... meh.

(It's hard to write a review when you're not passionate about liking or disliking it if you couldn't tell. Sorry, it's probably a bit of a boring read, but so was the film!)