Kind of a delayed movie review, but I went to see Whip It last Friday (October is shaping up to be a very full month for me for some reason; lots to chat about). It’s a coming-of-age movie about roller derby in Austin. There were a few faults that any movie snob worth their salt would pick out. But, like Erin Grey’s nose, they were flaws that added to the overall charm. And without them, it would have been just any other cute chick flick, instead of the quirky chick who’s a little rough around the edged but nobody puts in a corner. Movie snobs might be disappointed. But a movie fan would find a lot to like.
So, here’s my usual 3 things:
- This is one of the few movies I’ve taken my teenage niece to that was about women where I didn’t feel like I was betraying a hundred years of feminism. These aren’t overly primped, primed and spackled women that have been molded into something not-quite-human and are little more than mannequins. The roller girls of Whip It look like rough and tumble, real women: inch-thick eyeliner, torn fishnets and highlights that you had your girlfriend do for you. Gals not girls. Not to say they aren’t glamorous. They are. But it’s an empowered, self-confident glamour that comes from knowing what you’re capable of. Not from what shoes you mortgaged your house to buy. And the roller derby scenes featuring the gals cutting loose, throwing elbows and face planting, are about as thrilling as anything I’ve seen on the screen this year.
- Andrew Wilson is the missing link of the Wilson brothers. If you’ve ever looked at Owen and Luke and tried to figure out how you get from there to there, Andrew is the missing piece of that puzzle. He’s the Wilsonopithicus. The Ardi of the Wilson family. And a brave, brave man to wear cutoff jean shorts through an entire movie.
- I loved Marcia Gay Harden and Daniel Stern as the parents. Stern got the Texas dad look down like a circus clown, but he missed the accent by a long chalk. Marcia Gay Harden on the other hand? Nailed it. She had the accent, and the former small town beauty queen thing knocked. But the really nice thing was the two of them together. Two married adults, over 40, flirting. With each other! What a concept. And they were just too cute together.
3 comments:
Sounds like an interesting movie. Thanks for the review. By the way, did you mean Jennifer Grey, not Erin Grey (re: noses, interesting, because of flaws)?
Love the parents too - but yes, spent mot of the movie drooling over Andrew Wilson. Didn't you love to hate Juliette Lewis too? She made the movie have a nice edge in a Rizzo from Grease way that rocked.
Oh, you're right! Erin Grey was the intrepid Col. Wilma Deering. She who saved the galaxy next to Gil Gerard as Buck Rogers circa 1980 or so, and in silver spandex, no less.
I thought Juliette Lewis was genius casting. Good use of her loca vibe. My favorite moment was during the food fight when she was wearing the black top cut down to her navel. My niece leaned over and said, "She. Has. No. Boobs."
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