Whip It

In a certain way, it makes perfect sense that the sport that is showcased in WHIP IT involves skating, because skating is exactly what the film does during the majority of its first half: it skates right through plot exposition and character development without caring to give either of those two things the treatment that they deserve. I love the film's premise in that it's literally a reversal of the "geeky girl turns beauty queen" plot line, but the fact that the movie sprints through this transition so quickly in its first 15 minutes is almost insulting. If that were it, I wouldn't be so upset, but what we're exposed to in WHIP IT is a series of some of the worst, most annoying editing, in terms of the skating sequences, which are incredibly hard to follow and not fluid in the least bit. These sequences are composed of confusing gags in which girls fall or hit each other constantly, and there's literally nothing here that makes any of the competitions exciting to watch.

Now, the most confusing thing about WHIP IT is that, after it "skates" through plot/character development in its first half going straight into the annoyingly fast-paced skate sequences, it suddenly slows down towards the end, and there are some reasonably effective dramatic, dialogue-based moments that take place before the film's final showdown. This is disappointing because it's a sign of what could've been, if this same approach had been used during the film's beginning to get us to care about the characters. Honestly, if from its halfway point on, WHIP IT would've continued with its improvement in the dramatic department, I may have felt inclined to give it a higher rating, but as expected, the climax and everything related to the final competition descends into utter cliche. There's very little originality here.

I wish I could say that the movie has other virtues in terms of having interesting characters, but I'd be lying. Ellen Page is severely constrained here as the protagonist; the script literally prevents her from demonstrating the infinite range she displayed in both HARD CANDY and JUNO. Heck, she even had a meatier role in the forgettable SMART PEOPLE. I may have appreciated the romantic aspect of WHIP IT more if Page hadn't been paired with the lanky and gangly Landon Pigg, who shows nil acting ability. Drew Barrymore (who also directed) and Kristen Wiig have both had far better moments in the realm of comedy, and they bring very little of value here in terms of their performances. The usually great Marcia Gay Harden has to suffer through being the stereotypically demanding mother, complete with the scene at the end in which she "finally understands and accepts everything," while Daniel Stern is thoroughly unfunny as the dad. However, the most insufferably bad performances are given by Andrew Wilson as the girls' coach and by the still unfunny Jimmy Fallon as the "announcer" of sorts at the competitions. As if the competitions weren't annoying enough because of how poorly edited they are, Wilson and Fallon are like mosquitoes each time they intervene (they're bothersome, and they never go away). The only person who's somewhat refreshing to watch here is Alia Shawkat as the protagonist's best friend, though the sudden moment at the end in which she makes out with the restaurant boss makes no sense whatsoever.

When I reviewed BANDSLAM a couple of days ago, I discussed how it was actually possible for conventional films to still be entertaining and find some way to give freshness to their material. BANDSLAM knew just when to hold off on having too many musical sequences (and at least they were edited well) and it also knew when to hold off in terms of cliches. That's largely absent from WHIP IT. This film isn't a total disaster, but it's a failure of editing and storytelling. You know something's wrong when you're focused on wanting the movie to end rather than on rooting for your heroine to win in the final showdown. I hate doing this, because I realize that WHIP IT has all the best intentions in the world, but I refuse to give credit to a clearly half-assed piece of entertainment.

4/10