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"WHIP IT" (2009) (Ellen Page, Marcia Gay Harden) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Heavy Mild Heavy Minor Minor Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Heavy None None None Heavy Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy Minor Heavy Moderate Moderate QUICK TAKE: Dramedy: A teen secretly opts to join a rough-and-tumble roller derby team, thus putting her at odds with her stage-mother mom who'd rather have her following in her footsteps of being a beauty pageant contestant. PLOT: Bliss Cavendar (ELLEN PAGE) is a 17-year-old who lives in a small Texas town with her younger sister, Shania (EULALA SCHEEL), and their mom, Brooke (MARCIA GAY HARDEN), and dad, Earl (DANIEL STERN). When she doesn't work in the local diner with her best friends, Pash (ALIA SHAWKAT) and Birdman (CARLO ALBAN), she reluctantly enters various beauty pageants, just to appease her mom, competing against the likes of Corbi Booth (SARAH HABEL). Her uneasy and generally unhappy demeanor gets a boost, however, when she and Pash sneak off to nearby Austin to watch a roller derby match. Instantly enamored with the tough girls on the Hurl Scouts team -- such as Maggie Mayhem (KRISTEN WIIG), Smashly Simpson (DREW BARRYMORE), Rosa Sparks (EVE) and Bloody Holly (ZOE BELL) -- Bliss lies to Coach Razor (ANDREW WILSON) that she's old enough to join the team and renames herself Babe Ruthless. When not competing in the matches emceed by track announcer Johnny (JIMMY FALLON) and having to deal with tough rivals such as Iron Maven (JULIETTE LEWIS) and Eva Destruction (ARI GRAYNOR), Bliss finds herself falling for rocker Oliver (LANDON PIGG) and growing apart from Pash. Yet, her secret alter-life, in which she thinks she's found her true calling, is at odds with the life her mother wants for her, meaning the teen must decide what she's going to do and who she's going to make happy. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Girls of various ages might be interested in watching the story of the teen who's trying to find her place in life, while fans of anyone in the cast might also be interested in it. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For sexual content including crude dialogue, language and drug material. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: ELLEN PAGE plays a small town teen who isn't happy with her life, be that as a diner waitress or a beauty pageant contestant (and way for her stage-mother mom to relive her own fleeting fame from years ago). When she discovers roller derby, she thinks she's found her calling in life, but must lie about her age to join and to her parents about her new passion since they wouldn't approve. She briefly drinks, uses some profanity (one instance briefly strong), and fools around with Oliver. MARCIA GAY HARDEN plays her stage-mother mom, a mail carrier who wants her daughter to follow in her beauty pageant footsteps. She smokes a few times and isn't happy with Bliss for not following that course. DANIEL STERN plays her husband and Bliss' father who'd rather avoid any confrontation in their contentious relationship and enjoys having time to himself. He does step up to the plate late in the film, however, to help his daughter be happy. He drinks some. KRISTEN WIIG plays something of the matriarch of the roller derby team who takes Bliss under her wing and offers her substantial and superficial advice. She drinks some. ALIA SHAWKAT plays Bliss' best friend and fellow diner worker who doesn't like the fact that they end up growing apart following Bliss' foray into roller derby. She drinks to the point of being sick, fools around with one guy, and briefly kisses Birdman. LANDON PIGG plays a rocker who takes a liking to Bliss. He uses some profanity, fools around with her, and may or may not have cheated on her while out on tour. JULIETTE LEWIS plays Bliss' 36-year-old rival who doesn't like the young upstart and does what she can to undermine her success. She uses some profanity. DREW BARRYMORE, EVE and ZOE BELL play other members of Bliss' team who are rough-and-tumble types of women. ARI GRAYNOR plays another rival who's on Iron Maven's team. ANDREW WILSON plays the Hurl Scouts' coach who tries to get them to compete to the best of their abilities. JIMMY FALLON plays the derby match emcee/color commentator who uses some strong profanity as well as sexually related dialogue in his appearances. SARAH HABEL plays Bliss' beauty pageant rival who looks down on her. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: Here's a quick look at the content found in this dramedy that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 1 "f" word, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Sexually related dialogue and innuendo are present, as is some partial nudity, sexually related humor, and some fooling around (and possible off-screen sex). Violence includes various bits of purposeful and accidental contact among roller derby competitors, as well as some contact off the track. Some of that has brief bloody results, while some bruises are also seen. All sorts of potentially imitative behavior is present, which also holds true for tense family material. Drinking occurs in various scenes, including intoxication and consumption by those under the legal drinking age, while there are some brief drug related comments and brief smoking. Some scatological comments and related material are present, as are various bad attitudes. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there's some handheld camerawork, as well as point of view footage on the roller derby track. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Bliss buys some shoes in a "head shop," and Brooke initially isn't aware that's what the store is, and she comments on some "pretty vases" in a display case (they're really bongs and such). That prompts the young workers there to snicker, saying they're great for tulips. Brooke then realizes what they are, calls Earl, and complains that their daughter took her to a head shop. Bliss then sarcastically responds that shoes are a gateway drug. Earl has a beer. Miscellaneous people drink at a derby match. One player states that there will be two-dollar pitchers of beer that night. Rosa takes a plastic cup of beer from a spectator, drinks some, and then spews that onto him and others. During the same match, Pash has a beer (she's underage). People have beer at a party, while Rosa has a flask, and we see a person being held upside down to drink that way from a keg. Bliss finds Pash intoxicated, and she appears ready to vomit, but then says she swallowed that. Some players spray champagne after a victory. About seeing Razor pay off another coach during a match, Johnny wonders if he indeed saw that or if his peyote just kicked in. Miscellaneous people drink beer at a derby match. Earl has a beer while watching football. Bliss asks if she can have one and he says no, but that she can sip some of his. She then takes that, downs the rest, and belches. Spectators have beer while watching a match. When fire officials make everyone leave, we see Pash outside with a beer, and she dumps that when police approach her (we later here she was arrested for an open container, as well as underage drinking). Razor and his team have beer. We see a photo of Oliver with a beer. There's more miscellaneous drinking at a derby match. Razor tells Smashly Simpson that if a play was called what sounded like "bong water," she'd probably be paying attention. People drink beer after a match. Smashly Simpson and Maggie have beer (and the latter has a shot) during outtakes footage, while another such scene shows another woman giving Rosa a flask in a hot tub (with some subtle sexual connotations involving that). BLOOD/GORE The team is called the "Hurl Scouts." A player purposefully elbows Smashly Simpson in the face during practice, bloodying her there. About someone else, Iron Maven sarcastically calls Bliss a "kiss-ass" and asks why she doesn't suck up a little harder as there's still part of Bliss' face that doesn't have "doody" on it. Bliss asks her teammates if anyone's ever thrown up on the track. One responds yes, and Bliss later says she's going to "puke" (from nerves), but doesn't. Two of the women compare bad-looking bruises on parts of their buttocks (and thus we see partial bare butt views). Bliss finds Pash intoxicated, and she appears ready to vomit, but then says she swallowed that. Bliss then purposefully makes her vomit (for her own good) by making Pash think about her parents making love. Later, Bliss complains that Pash smells like a dead goat from that. We see a bad bruise on Bliss' lower back as her dress is open in the back (center of, but full rear torso). Maggie's young son has his finger up his nose. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE A pageant competitor, Corbi, makes a gun gesture at Bliss from another car after a pageant event. Earl tells a white lie to Brooke and Bliss on the phone about a business deal, while he's really just eating. Bliss and Pash lie to the former's parents about heading off to a football game when they're really off to see a roller derby match. Bliss lies about being 22-years-old in order to get on the team. Two sisters on the squad beat up a vending machine to get some product out of that. A player purposefully elbows Smashly Simpson in the face during practice, bloodying her there. Iron Maven is a constant thorn in Bliss' side throughout the movie, both verbally/emotionally and physically. Bliss lies to her parents about having an SAT class when she's really headed off for the derby. A student mocks Bliss and grabs his own clothed crotch. After a guy with Corbi mocks Bliss, the latter purposefully knocks Corbi off a railing at school, with Corbi landing hard. During an argument, Bliss tells her mom, "You're full of sh*t" and confronts her dad for his lackadaisical demeanor. A person refers to the female derby competitors as a "gang of roller-skating she-males." Bliss thinks Oliver has cheated on her when she sees a photo of him on tour with a girl wearing Bliss' t-shirt. FRIGHTENING SCENES During a derby match, Bliss is hit hard, and remains on the track, worrying others (but she gets up). GUNS/WEAPONS A pageant competitor, Corbi, makes a gun gesture at Bliss from another car after a pageant event. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Sh*t happens," "Let's go ape-sh*t," "You're full of sh*t," "Oh sh*t," "This is bullsh*t," "I've loved the ever-living sh*t out of you," "You don't have the balls," "I could grow some balls," "Pocket rocket," "Jabba the slut," "I knocked her up," "Suck on this, girls" (referring to a poster), "Jackass," "Well, hell," "Dang it, girl," "Are you off your nut?" "Screw you and your grandma's celebrity Chevy," "None of us knew our ass from our elbow guard," "Jeez," "Listen up, fresh meat," "Hauls ass," "Kiss-ass," "What the hell was that?" "She smoked you," "That really pisses you off," "Beating the crap out of each other," "I'm gonna puke," "Kick ass," "Congratulations, you still suck," "You kicked ass," "'Sup, ladies?" "Douche bag," "Tampon," "Tool," "You smell like a dead goat," "Go ask him if he wants a squealer," "Holy crap," "I want to beat that cotton bitch," "Forfeit my ass," "What do I look like, an idiot?" "Or did my peyote just kick in?" "You suck," "Go out there are get you some," "Survey says you're wasting my time," "You psycho," "Loser-ville," "Crappy," "Where the hell have you been?" "That dog ain't gonna hunt," "I screwed up," "You're damn straight," "My every G*ddamn move," "I worked my ass off," "A gang of roller-skating she-males," "The timing sucks," "Like a bat out of hell" and "Sorry my ass." Bliss playfully chokes Pash about the latter laughing about the former ending up with blue-tinged hair. A pageant competitor, Corbi, makes a gun gesture at Bliss from another car after a pageant event. Various derby skaters have tattoos and/or facial piercings. Pash playfully drives a few feet ahead as Bliss tries to get into the car. Bliss lies about being 22-years-old in order to get on the team. Two sisters on the squad beat up a vending machine to get some product out of that. Iron Maven pushes Bliss into a locker and closes the door. Pash does a playful pelvic thrust about Birdman (not in his presence). Rosa takes a plastic cup of beer from a spectator, drinks some, and then spews that onto him and others. During the same match, Pash has a beer (she's underage). The Hurl Scouts repeatedly chant, "We're number two!" Smashly Simpson has multi-colored hair. People have beer at a party, while Rosa has a flask, and we see a person being held upside down to drink that way from a keg. A student mocks Bliss and grabs his own clothed crotch. Smashly Simpson has a pierced tongue. About a derby move called "the whip," Johnny says, "You've been whipped" while making a whipping gesture. Bliss belches after finishing her dad's beer. About Bliss being the new poster girl, one person taunts the rival team with that and says, "Suck on this, girls." Iron Maven throws a ketchup-covered French fry onto Bliss, who then throws something back, followed by a milkshake and then an overall food fight among many players on both teams. Eva gives "the finger" to someone. During outtakes footage we see some of the young women playfully punching each other on the shoulder. In the outtakes, we see Smashly Simpson riding her boyfriend on the ground (both clothed) like a horse. JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) None. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 1 "f" word, 8 "s" words, 1 slang term using male genitals ("tool"), 11 asses, 5 craps, 4 hells, 1 damn, 4 uses of "G-damn," 3 of "Oh my God" and 1 use each of "God" and "My God." SEX/NUDITY Brooke playfully does a little body shimmy for Earl, with him playfully saying he'll see her later. Pash show some cleavage. A teen orders a "squealer" burger at the diner (where if he eats it in 3 minutes or less, it's free), and then playfully says he doesn't mean Corbi who's with him. About Corbi, Pash tells Bliss she can't believe the latter shared a bed with her. Bliss then replies that Pash makes that sound dirty, as it was just a sleepover when they were kids. Bliss and Pash lie to the former's parents about heading off to a football game when they're really off to see a roller derby match. Earl offers to drive them to the football game, but Brooke tells him to let them go have fun, saying, "Then we can..." (presumably fool around). About competing in the violent derby, Pash tells Bliss the latter doesn't have the "balls" for it, with Bliss saying she could grow some. Some roller derby names are noted as "pocket rocket" and "Jabba the slut." Pash shows some cleavage. About smart girls, Earl tells Bliss that's why he married her mother, but then adds, "And I knocked her up." Maggie gives some life advice to Bliss, including not falling for one's regional manager and thinking he won't give you crabs, because he will. She then asks Bliss if she's ever had crabs, Bliss says no, and Maggie responds that her doctor said they were common. Pash does a playful pelvic thrust about Birdman (not in his presence). As the emcee, Johnny states that his spidey senses are tingling, and jokes about not making a sequel in his pants. One woman sarcastically asks, "What, Spider-Man three and a half?" with Johnny replying, "Yeah, it's three and a half inches...wide." Eva shows cleavage. Iron Maven and her teammates wear very short skirts during the matches, occasionally showing brief glimpses of lower parts of their butts. Two of the women compare bad-looking bruises on parts of their buttocks (and thus we see partial bare butt views). About Oliver, Bliss talks to herself in the mirror, saying she's only going to make out with him. She's then surprised to find Pash in the shower with a guy nuzzling on her neck (both are clothed and the shower isn't running). But Pash is nearly sick from drinking too much, and Bliss purposefully makes her vomit (for her own good) by making Pash think about her parents making love, with sweaty "balls" jiggling and such. Suddenly seeing Oliver outside the diner, Pash somewhat suggestively tells Bliss to go ask him if he wants a "squealer" (a hamburger, but meant as a double entendre). A student mocks Bliss and grabs his own clothed crotch. We see miscellaneous cleavage. Smashly Simpson trips an opposing player and is then struggling on top of her on the track, prompting Johnny to ask if he should break that up or break out the video camera. We see footage from the movie "The Jerk" where Steve Martin's character scampers along, fully nude, save for dogs he's holding over his crotch and butt (but we still see the side of his bare butt). Bliss and Oliver passionately kiss. Bliss comes across her dad's van that's rocking back and forth and hears things like "Oh baby" and "Do it" coming from inside. When the door opens, she shields her eyes, but then realizes it's just her dad alone, watching a football game. We see a bad bruise on Bliss' lower back as her dress is open in the back (center of, but full rear torso). Oliver and Bliss do some kissing under the water in a pool. They then start undressing each other under the water, with views of him shirtless and her in her bra and panties. We then see a head and shoulders view of them kissing out of the pool (we see bare shoulders, but we don't know if they're nude or if any sexual activity occurred). Later, when he drops her off, she removes her shirt (down to her bra), gives it to him to take on the road, and then puts his jacket on. Pash suddenly and passionately kisses Birdman. About Bliss thinking Oliver has cheated on her, Pash states that's why she likes fondling as it's simpler. Johnny holds up a sign at a match for anyone in the crowd that reads "Call me" on one side and "STD free" on the other. A young woman grabs Razor and kisses him in a corner during outtakes footage. During outtakes footage, a woman gives Rosa a flask in a hot tub (with some subtle sexual connotations involving that). SMOKING Brooke at least smokes twice. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Brooke is upset with Bliss showing up with blue-tinged hair for a beauty pageant appearance. Her disappointment in her daughter is present throughout most of the film. Brooke is upset with Bliss when the latter returns home and her mom has learned that Pash was arrested outside the derby. That turns into an argument starting with the parents confronting Bliss about lying to them, with Bliss then being upset with her mom for pushing her 1950s style housewife ideals on her. That eventually results in Bliss telling her mom, "You're full of sh*t" and confronting her dad for his lackadaisical demeanor. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Following one's passion and/or dream. Dealing with parental expectations. Stage mothers who live vicariously through their children. Brooke reminding Bliss that beauty doesn't last forever. Underage drinking. VIOLENCE Bliss playfully chokes Pash about the latter laughing about the former ending up with blue-tinged hair. One derby player is knocked down on the track. Pash squeezes Bliss' arm to prove the latter's low tolerance for pain, prompting Bliss to whack Pash. Two sisters on the squad beat up a vending machine to get some product out of that. A player purposefully elbows Smashly Simpson in the face during practice, bloodying her there. Various players have some hard wipeouts during practice, including Bliss who crashes hard into the side railing. Iron Maven pushes Bliss into a locker and closes the door. Bliss lands hard on the track after jumping over another player. Iron Maven knocks down Bliss during practice. There's hard contact during a derby match. Smashly Simpson punches a competitor in the face during a match. Smashly Simpson jumps on a guy at a party and punches him, but we then hear that he's her fiance and this is apparently not meant maliciously. Iron Maven and some of her teammates grab Bliss and throw her into a hot tub, fully clothed. Suddenly seeing Oliver outside the diner, Bliss lets go of Pash in the middle of a playful dance dip, thus sending her crashing to the floor. After a guy with Corbi mocks Bliss, the latter purposefully knocks Corbi off a railing at school, with Corbi landing hard. There's contact between players in another match. Smashly Simpson trips an opposing player and is then struggling on top of her on the track, prompting Johnny to ask if he should break that up or break out the video camera. There's contact among competitors during a derby match. Bliss slaps Oliver despite him stating he didn't cheat on her (we don't know if that's true or not). There's more contact among competitors at another derby match. A competitor clotheslines Smashly Simpson who then trips that girl, gets on top of her, and punches her. Moments later, one player is elbowed, and then Bliss is hit hard, and remains on the track, worrying others (but she gets up). During outtakes footage we see some of the young women playfully punching each other on the shoulder. Reviewed August 19, 2009 / Posted October 2, 2009

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