Whip It! The Movie Review

Last week, the DH and I met up with some friends, ate some Chinese food, and then went to the movies. We decided to see Whip It! and we were not disappointed. I don't think this will be a spoiler. The DH and I both really liked the movie. It's especially nice when we both do.

Seriously, we loved watching the roller derby, because it's just really fun and dangerous looking. I'm pretty sure I never want to try it, but it's great to watch. I guess the one part where Drew Barrymore's character gets a double bloody nose wasn't that fun to watch, but most of it was.

The better part was the story of Bliss and her journey and especially her relationship with her mom. The reason it was so good, was that it was actually complicated. It wasn't bad mom with misunderstood daughter or good mom with bad daughter or anything that easy. I love that they didn't make it easy and therefore too Hollywood. In the spirit of now ruining it for anyone, I'll also just say that the movie isn't totally predictable. I'm so impressed that we got to see a movie that made us think and actually kept us talking about it a couple of days later.

And for you protective types out there, Bliss falls in love and spends a long evening at a swimming pool with her new beau, but any mischief is purely implied. You don't get to see any skin that a bathing suit covers and the worst thing in the movie is a few times that they swear. There is some underage drinking and the theme is complex, so I think the PG-13 rating is more for overall content than any specific thing. That was pretty refreshing, to be honest.

Even a couple of days later, one of us will say, "you know what else I really liked about that movie...?" Maybe that's my very favorite part.