Whip It

Rating: PG 13 for sexual content including crude dialogue, language and drug material

Genre: Comedy

Running Time: 111 minutes

Starring: Ellen Page, Marcia Gay Harden, Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore

Director: Drew Barrymore

Plot: Drew Barrymore makes her directorial debut with this feisty, female-friendly action-comedy. JUNO’s Ellen Page stars as Bliss Cavendar, a young woman who longs to break free of her small-town bonds by joining the rough-and-tumble sport of roller derby in nearby Austin, Texas.

Kate says: 3 1/2 stars Funny, quirky, witty, entertaining, engaging  and thoroughly fun time at the movies.  Ellen Page is perfect as Bliss and Barrymore  does an excellent job in her directorial debut.

Ebert says: 3 1/2 stars “In her debut as a director, Barrymore shows she must have been paying attention ever since Spielberg cast her when she was 5. She and her team do an especially effective job in staging the derby showdowns.”

Reelviews says: 2 stars “The movie is too safe and generic; even the best director would be challenged to do much with the material. At its best, this could have been a passable distraction and at its worst, it could have been unwatchable. Barrymore manages to bring it in somewhere in between those extremes.”

Rotten Tomatoes says: 81 % Consensus: While made from overly familiar ingredients, Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut has enough charm, energy, and good-natured humor to transcend its many cliches.