Whip It

Ellen Page in a scene from the film

Well if there's one thing I got out of this film it's the inspiration to go out and buy some roller-skates and roll around town. It also just put me in a damn good mood.

Ahh I love a good ol' Drew Barrymore film, but to also find out that this is her directorial debut made it all the more thrilling! Sure this film uses as many references toward indie culture as it can, such as, Daniel Johnston's 'Hi How Are You?' t-shirts (famously worn by Kurt Cobain), but what film starring Ellen Page doesn't? To be honest this girl is starting to give me the shits, playing the same cynical, alternative, cool character in nearly every film she's ever starred in, but surprisingly she didn't bother me all that much in this one.

Page stars as the character Bliss, forced to take party in beauty pageants by her mother (Marcia Gay Harden), which just isn't for her. When she discovers a roller derby sport involving racing fellow roller-skater girls (which actually proves to be a rather violent sport), she finds herself falling in love with it and decides to sneak behind her parents' backs and take part in the sport.

There's young romance, musicians, quirky characters, food fights and an awesome soundtrack; everything you want from an indie-comedy. I'm still not sick of this genre yet so I took quite a liking to Whip It. If you're not sick of Ellen Page yet and are just up for something light-hearted this would be a perfect choice.

Rating: 4/5