Whip It | reviews, news & interviews
Whip It
Whip It
Hot roller derby girls in fishnets in Drew Barrymore's fast and funny feature debut
Monday, 05 April 2010
![](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/mast_image_landscape/public/mastimages/670539864e65359b2f613197e806fc23.jpg?itok=mwtdn2y9)
Ellen Page flanked by Drew Barrymore (left) and Kirsten Wiig in Barrymore's 'Whip It'
Whip It is not about nefarious S&M practices, nor the art of patisserie, nor even dog racing - although it has trace elements of all of the above. Instead, Drew Barrymore's sweet and swaggering maiden trip as director is a confection set in the rough-and-tumble world of female roller derbies, at which rival teams hurtle around a curved rink like bats out of hell, inflicting grievous bodily harm on each other in the process. For those unversed in the finer points of the sport, the film helpfully explains these near the beginning. Basically, though, it involves "hot girls in fishnets beating the crap out of each other," a spectacle which, whatever your gender and sexual orientation, you may well find curiously appealing.
Whip It is not about nefarious S&M practices, nor the art of patisserie, nor even dog racing - although it has trace elements of all of the above. Instead, Drew Barrymore's sweet and swaggering maiden trip as director is a confection set in the rough-and-tumble world of female roller derbies, at which rival teams hurtle around a curved rink like bats out of hell, inflicting grievous bodily harm on each other in the process. For those unversed in the finer points of the sport, the film helpfully explains these near the beginning. Basically, though, it involves "hot girls in fishnets beating the crap out of each other," a spectacle which, whatever your gender and sexual orientation, you may well find curiously appealing.
The future of Arts Journalism
You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!
We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d
And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
more Film
![Harrison Ford smash: Red Hulk gets mad](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Captain%20America%20Red%20Hulk.jpeg?itok=01U17AdD)
![Greek earners: Aram Sabbah as Reda and Mahmood Bakri as Chatila in ‘To a Land Unknown’](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/To%20a%20Land%20Unknown.png?itok=Eo9FfoxZ)
![](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Memoir%20of%20a%20Snail_0.jpg?itok=OKCSmthk)
![In the driving seat at last: Renée Zellweger and Leo Woodall](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/2577_D060_01051.jpg?itok=3gQmAZH-)
![Listen carefully: Toshiro Mifune and Kyōko Kagawa in 'High and Low'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/1_yexeJVA4AqR4uc0NjOZusg.jpg?itok=bCsGV6VO)
![Wolves and sheep: Barry Keoghan as Jack](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/bringthemdownjacktruck.jpg?itok=zX2fbLSX)
![A whole new ballgame: Leonie Benesch and John Magaro in 'September 5'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Munich%201.jpg?itok=nA5LU0SH)
![Post-war blues: Murakami (Toshiro Mifune), Satō (Takashi Shimura) and chorus girl Namiki (Keiko Awaji)](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Stray%20Dog%20%28Nora%20Inu%29_Image%202%20with%20Harumi%20%C2%A9%201949%20Toho%20Co.%2C%20Ltd.%20All%20rights%20reserved.jpg?itok=aW_lXen9)
![Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Pansy at 'home'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/cinema_39b362.jpg?itok=D30c2IT1)
![Acting up: Belushi (Matt Wood) faces down Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle); Curtin (Kim Matula) and Newman (Emily Fairn) stand by](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/DF-02623_2000x1333_thumbnail.jpg?itok=YK9tQ09v)
![Jeonim (Kim Min-hee) with her uncle, Chu Si-eon (Kwon Hae-hyo)](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/bythestream%20jeouncle%20copy.jpg?itok=Q40TUOaC)
Add comment