By Christopher Campbell
If you’ve never been to a roller-derby match before, get ready to be intrigued by this crop of new photos from Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut, “Whip It.” USA Today brings us the exclusive images, which feature Drew, Ellen Page, Kristen Wiig and Zoe Bell as members of the Girl Scout-themed team “Hurl Scouts.” There are also some shots of the movie’s villain, played by Juliette Lewis, who leads the Catholic schoolgirl-themed rival team, “Holy Rollers.”
Based on the young adult novel “Derby Girl,” the plot of “Whip It” focuses on Ellen’s character, a teenage runaway, who lies about her age and joins up with a roller-derby league in Austin, Texas. Going by the alias “Babe Ruthless,” she skates alongside her new mentor, “Maggie Mayhem” (Kristen), as well as “Smashley Simpson” (Drew), “Bloody Holly” (Zoe) and other tough ladies with similarly badass nicknames.
As a fan of New York’s Gotham Girls roller-derby league, I was worried that “Whip It” would take too many liberties with the look of the sport. Though often celebrated as being empowering for women, roller-derby has a tendency to be viewed primarily as a sexy spectacle. And in a way, I can see in these images a certain tarted-up appearance in the uniforms worn by the central two teams, both of which exploit young girl fetishism.
But I’m still looking forward to “Whip It,” regardless of its need to appeal to a male audience. For the most part it should still be a great inspiration for young women, onscreen and off, and I’m excited to see what Drew can do behind the camera.
Here’s what she told USA Today about her experience as a first-time filmmaker:“I’ve been putting everything into a piggy bank, whether it was working with a filmmaker or going to a museum or listening to a certain song. Everything I’ve learned throughout my whole life has been going into this piggy bank, and I just smashed it all over the floor for this one.”
What do you think of the first look at "Whip It"?
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