DREW BARRYMORE - MOVIE REVIEWS WHIP IT

MOVIE REVIEWS WHIP IT

Whip It set in the world of roller derby with Drew Barrymore (who also produces directs) and Ellen Page skating up a storm, follows the outlines of countless other movies about characters who find success in sports despite enormous odds. Nevertheless, A.O. Scott observes in the New York Times , "Familiarity is not always a bad thing." In this instance, he notes, "the cast shows enough agility and conviction to make [the clichés] seem almost fresh." Besides, adds Elizabeth Weitzman in the New York Daily News, "sometimes it's better to make the right movie within a genre than to tackle something out of your range. Barrymore knows both her limits and her values and, to her credit, stays true to each." Likewise Linda Barnard writes in the Toronto Star , "Despite a thin, predictable script courtesy of Shauna Cross's source novel Derby Girl, there's something very likable about Whip It and its strong, sometimes goofily sweet female cast." But Barrymore receives special praise in her directing debut. "Drew Barrymore's first go at directing has all the grit and guts of a regulation sports movie, but it also has an honest warmth to it," writes Amy Biancolli in the San Francisco Chronicle. Betsy Sharkey applauds in the Los Angeles Times "There are many sly satisfactions to be found in Barrymore's smartly done directing debut." And Wesley Morris concludes in the Boston Globe "Barrymore has so thoroughly laced Whip It with her own lunatic affections for women and the human race in general that it ought to be sold as an antidepressant."

02/10/2009