Whip It (2009)
Tomatometer
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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
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Whip It greatly benefits from Barrymore’s breezy approach and her large female cast’s camaraderie. Full Review |
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What Whip It does make clear is that all girls are expected to perform, whether expectations are embodied by parents or audiences. Full Review |
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Drew Barrymore's directorial debut is slight yet charming. Full Review |
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3/4 |
Drew Barrymore's directorial debut is an energetic celebration of grrrl power, and it sure is fun to watch. Full Review |
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3.5/5 |
Its refreshingly unjaded look at humanity is not something I'm prepared to sneer at. Full Review |
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Barrymore's Irresistible 'Whip It': 'Kansas City Bomber' Crossed with 'Gidget' Full Review |
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2.5/4 |
...the stellar performances and Barrymore's obvious enthusiasm for the material ultimately proves instrumental in allowing the viewer to overlook the myriad of flaws. Full Review |
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4/5 |
Barrymore makes her directorial debut her with an astute eye for the complex emotional passage being experienced beneath Bliss's crash helmet. Full Review |
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5/5 |
It takes girl power to the extreme and made me wish I was a roller derby girl. Jam packed full of excitement, action, humor and intensity. Full Review |
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 2.5/5 |
It's just "Footloose" goes to the roller derby. Full Review |
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B+ |
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. Full Review |
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3/4 |
The marvel of Whip It is that Barrymore's freewheeling spirit is infectious, even when her direction borders on sloppiness and the script skirts with cliché. Full Review |
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5/5 |
Whip It, the directorial debut of Drew Barrymore, is friendly and fun-loving and nurturing, as she seems to be. Full Review |
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3.5/4 |
'Whip It' is so many things. It's a coming-of-age movie. It's a sports movie. It's a relationship movie. It's a funny movie. It's a poignant movie. And above all, is it ever fun! Full Review |
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3/4 |
First-time director Barrymore has a sharp eye for the rough-and-tumble grunginess of roller derby, and a warmhearted appreciation of the girl power that fuels it. Full Review |
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2.5/3 |
A feel-good, if formulaic, dramatic comedy set in the full-contact world of roller derby and boasting a very Drew Barrymore blend of good humor and punky femininity. Full Review |
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3.5/5 |
It is a bit of an odd film, this, but I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, and I think that's largely because of Ellen Page... she rises to the occasion tremendously. Full Review |
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3.5/5 |
There is a strange tone to the film. It’s as if it knows there’s a cliché at the heart of this story of an outsider finding expression of her true self and works hard to avoid it. Full Review |
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2/5 |
Not the holy roller expected of such a promising cast, premise and debut director. Full Review |
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3/5 |
Surprisingly touching moments of realisation and emotional connection manage to rise above the dramatic cliches that pepper the rest of the film and account for the best scenes in Whip It. Next to all the punch-ups on the track, that is. Full Review |
CommentLatest 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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