Drew Barrymore makes her directorial debut with this roller derby flick. But the film isn't a sports flick in the traditional sense. It serves as more of a female empowerment story. Roller derby is just the vehicle for a young teen to find herself.
Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page, JUNO) is that teen. For years, she's put up with beauty pageants to appease her mother Brooke (Marcia Gay Harden, POLLOCK), who is reliving her Texas pageant days through her daughters. Her father Earl (Daniel Stern, CITY SLICKERS) is hands off and strategically picks his battles with his headstrong wife. During a trip to Austin to do some shopping, Bliss meets some roller derby girls and becomes intoxicated with these free-spirited women.
After sneaking out to attend her first match, she is hooked and decides to try out, lying a bit about her age. Razor (Andrew Wilson, BOTTLE ROCKET), a dedicated coach in the league, likes Bliss's speed and selects her for his team, the Hurl Scouts, the worst team. Bliss looks up to her strong, confident teammates like Maggie Mayhem (Kristen Wiig, TV's SNL), Bloody Holly (Zoe Bell, DEATH PROOF), Rosa Sparks (Eve, THE WOODSMAN) and Smashley Simpson (Barrymore). But as the talented new rookie, she becomes the chief recipient of constant hazing from veteran player Iron Maven (Juliette Lewis, NATURAL BORN KILLERS).
While this is a film about roller derby that's not all it's about. It's also a coming-of-age story where a young girl searches for something more than the small town life of her parents. To get to Austin, she has an accomplice in her best friend Pash (Alia Shawkat, TV's ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT), who is along for the ride, but has other plans to get out of a life working at the dinner. Along with her new look, Bliss gets a new name – Babe Ruthless, and a rock 'n roll boyfriend named Oliver (Landon Pigg).
Of course one of the keys to the film's success is Ellen Page. She gives Bliss a subtle growth as her roller derby career opens her up. At the beginning, she's a shy girl who hides behind her "alternative" look. As Babe Ruthless, she gets to be someone else and takes to the rush of the competition and crowds with enthusiasm. Her relationship with her mother is interesting. At first, she isn't out right rebelling against her mother, but as she builds her own confidence she assert what she wants. Harden's Brooke isn't the cliché pageant mom either. She's a mail deliverer who moonlights as a beauty queen fan.
Barrymore balances the story's shifting tones well. One moment she's filming thrilling sports action and the next she's handling honest emotional moments between Bliss and her parents. I would have liked to see deeper interaction between Bliss and the other roller girls, but the conflict is centered on Bliss and her mother.
Barrymore, working from Shauna Cross's adaptation of her own novel, always puts the characters at the center of the story. It's not interested in using the typical sports plot points to build tension. Conflict comes naturally from the characters and the story's surprises ring true. Bliss becomes the strong woman she's always admired. She just gets there faster on skates.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
