Whip It (2009)

A young girl (Ellen Page) is torn between doing what her mother (Marcia Gay Harden) expects of her, namely the beauty pageant arena or doing what she has found a passion for ... the unladylike world of roller derby. Based on the novel by Shauna Cross (who also did the screenplay) and directed by Drew Barrymore in her directorial debut. It's a solid yeoman effort. While Page delivers a strong performance, her Bliss is perhaps the film's least interesting character. Barrymore surrounds her with a slew of strong characters (including her parents) that color the film and bring it vividly to life. Two of them, Juliette Lewis and Kristen Wiig as a roller derby rival and colleague respectively, are so interesting that one almost wishes Barrymore had focused on them instead of Page. I also loved how the movie didn't condescend to Harden's character which would have been so easy to caricature. The film is nicely shot by Robert D. Yeoman (GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL) and is laced with a wonderful pop/rock soundtrack. With good supporting work from Jimmy Fallon, Andrew Wilson, Daniel Stern, Eve, Zoe Bell, Ari Graynor and Barrymore herself.