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An indie-rock loving, misfit teen joins roller derby.

One might expect Whip It! to be Juno on roller skates, but it’s not. Ellen Page’s character, Bliss, is far from her critically acclaimed character in the film Juno. Shy, soft-spoken, and humble, Bliss lives in a small town in Texas and participates in beauty pageants to appease her mother. It’s not her thing, but she does it anyway. While thrift shopping in Austin, she discovers a flyer for a local roller derby bout and convinces her best friend, Pash, (Alia Shawkat), to go check it out with her. She gets the derby bug, and the rest is history.

Many of us who have played roller derby will relate to this film, even if the details are different than our personal experiences. The film follows the main character as she discovers roller derby, goes through the process of trying out, being fresh meat, and, eventually, becoming a star jammer. She is immersed into the world of derby, and, as a result, falls “in love” with it. We all know that being a derby player requires a lot of dedication, and Bliss has it. Remember when you joined roller derby and you suddenly became obsessed with improving your skills by skating in empty parking lots whenever possible? We see Bliss put cones out on the street so she can practice when she’s not at practice. She wears skates at work. She discovers how her body changes with discoveries of new muscles as well as new bruises. She gains confidence and becomes a stronger human being, both physically and mentally.

Sadly, Bliss is not old enough to play roller derby in the league she skates for, so she hides her true age. She lies to her parents about where she goes twice a week and on weekends.

Meanwhile, Bliss meets a boy in a band, and despite teammate Maggie Mayhem’s advice to “never date a boy in a band,” she gets involved with him. Their relationship is all that a teenage girl could hope for; a cute, sensitive boy with a guitar who adores her. However, it contributes to the fallout she has with her best friend, Pash.

Once her parents find out about her secret life, she runs away from home. When the league finds out that she is still a teenager, she’s not able to compete. She seeks help from Maggie Mayhem, (Kristen Wiig), who becomes a mentor in her time of need. With her new boyfriend on tour with his band, and possibly cheating on her, she soon discovers that her amazing new life is starting to roll downhill.

The film’s overall message is “be your own hero.” This film stays true to that theme as it shows how playing a team sport, albeit an underground non-professional one, can help build one’s self-esteem. But Bliss doesn’t become Super Woman overnight. She still must deal with her disapproving mother, her disconnected father, (who eventually supports her), her now-distant best friend, and her cheating boyfriend. But with her new-found confidence, she is able to pull through and make it work. Yes, there is a happy ending, but its on her terms.

What I love about this movie is that there are little bits and pieces that ring true to my personal experiences, thus bringing it all home for me. There is a scene where the bout is shut down by the Fire Marshall for not having the correct permits. (True story!) And having a coach who wears a dolphin charm necklace and roller blades and drives a dune buggy is a detail that all original L.A. Derby Dolls will recognize!

The film does show some situations that might not be consistent with today’s roller derby. We see fists flying on the track, (although there are some current leagues that do not ban fighting), and choreographed blocking. Some other things I noticed that seemed unrealistic were that the teams were small, only consisting of 5 or 6 skaters. It appeared that the teams never practiced together as a league, as each team had its own coach. And some of the skaters, (mostly Juliette Lewis’s character, Iron Maven), took their grudges off the track and would “bully” the skaters from the other teams, (mostly Bliss), at the after parties or in the locker room. I am sure this happens to a degree in real life as well, but it’s typically not tolerated. And although Iron Maven is the antagonist of this film, you may end up sympathizing with her when you hear her explain how long it took her to finally find something she’s good at.

You might not expect a mainstream movie about roller derby to be true to the sport, but I think the film succeeds at giving moviegoers a realistic glimpse of modern day roller derby. Hollywood has recently released films revolving around quirky sports like dodgeball and ping pong. Luckily, L.A. Derby Doll Shauna Cross, (the real-life Maggie Mayhem), was the woman behind the screenplay, so we don’t have Will Farrell or Ben Stiller starring in a film about a 1970’s men’s only derby team. What we do get is an endearing, heartfelt, coming-of-age story that just happens to have derby as a backdrop.

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