Whip It greatly benefits from Barrymore’s breezy approach and her large female cast’s camaraderie.
Comment
09/15/09
Whip It (2009)
82
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:141
Fresh:116
Rotten:25
Average Rating:7.1/10
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.
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: 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... [More]
Starring: Ellen Page, Marcia Gay Harden, Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore
Director: Drew Barrymore
Reviews for Whip It
Drew Barrymore makes her feature directorial debut at age 34, and whips up one of the year's most purely enjoyable Hollywood films.
10/02/09
[Drew] Barrymore... embraces the self-expression of this riot grrrl-style roller derby tale and fills the film with team spirit and high energy.
10/01/09
Barrymore's Irresistible 'Whip It': 'Kansas City Bomber' Crossed with 'Gidget'
10/18/09
Whip It, Drew Barrymore's fledgling outing as a director, stars Ellen Page in an engaging, affirming tale that's more sk8r grl saga than hell-on-wheels ride.
10/02/09
Teeming with girl-power spirit, Barrymore’s film exudes an all-encompassing benevolence rather than strident one-upmanship. These girls just want to have fun.
10/01/09
Hip but not smart-aleck, the film is not afraid to wear its heart on its sleeve as an invisible accessory to the pads, helmet and embarrassing Barbie skates that propel its underage heroine to a new identity...
10/06/09
For a film about a sport that involves lots of pushing, elbowing and bruising, Whip It is just too overwhelmingly nice.
10/01/09
Despite its somewhat contrived formula, Whip It feels like a spirited Indie that refuses to sell out, demonstrating respect for both its characters and its audience.
10/11/09
Built upon a mountain of clichés, the screenplay wallows in artificiality and, although some of the sports action sequences are well choreographed and have a ring of authenticity, nearly every scene away from the arena reeks of contrivance.
10/02/09
Love may be too strong a word, for me. But I'm deeply in like with Whip It.
10/02/09
"Whip It" is simply an entertaining vehicle, not an in-depth examination of the sport of roller derby or the women who play it.
10/04/09
As in most sports movies, the matches are really a means to an end, in this case the maturation of Bliss from a compliant but unhappy daughter to a young woman who knows her own mind.
10/02/09
Drew Barrymore finds the perfect project for her directorial debut, infusing the roller derby fun-fest with her spunk and joie de vivre.
10/04/09
The movie offers another memorable performance from Ellen Page, and it's an auspicious directing debut for Drew Barrymore.
10/02/09
Some old material given a delightful new grrrl-power twist.
09/15/09
Top CriticEasily skates by on the charms of both its novel setting and its gung-ho cast.
10/05/09
A spunky coming-of-age dramady about roller derby that boasts another stellar performance by Ellen Page.
10/03/09
Whip It ended up being a total blast. For her first film as a director, Barrymore's done a bang-up job.
09/25/09
I didn't love Whip It, but I found myself enjoying it, almost against my will.
10/02/09
Latest News for Whip It
October 01, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Zombieland Is Bloody Good
This week at the movies, we've got zombie zaniness (Zombieland, starring Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg); derby dolls (Whip it, starring Drew Barrymore and Ellen Page);... More...
October 01, 2009:
Whip It Good: Our Favorite Rollerskating Jams
As Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka so eloquently put it: "If the good lord had intended us to walk, he wouldn't have invented roller skates." Indeed. Yet while this week's Drew... More...
September 28, 2009:
Drew Barrymore Calls the Shots with Whip It 
Many years after a six-year-old Drew Barrymore handed Steven Spielberg a copy of her first script, she's ready to unveil her directorial debut with "Whip It." More...
July 19, 2009:
Trailer & Poster review
More...
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