Whip It

Laced with good-natured hipster kitsch and endearingly goofy girl power, director Drew Barrymore's roller-derby dramedy, Whip It, is a gas. Full Review

You might, nonetheless, want to see this movie, even -- or maybe especially -- if you have seen "Billy Elliot" or "Bend It Like Beckham." Familiarity is not always a bad thing, and if the script, by Shauna Cross, piles sports movie and coming-of-age touchstones into a veritable cairn of clichs, the cast shows enough agility and conviction to make them seem almost fresh. Full Review

For all the hip checks and bloody noses, it doesn't have a mean bone in its body. Full Review

Arriving on the nastier heels of the horror comedy "Jennifer's Body," Whip It plays like that movie's more wholesome twin, delivering the same jolt of anarchic guerrilla-girl empowerment, only with a far less threatening disposition. Full Review

What makes Whip It a blast is the action in the rink. What gives Whip It heart is the pathos, pain and mettle-testing elements that accompany any serious athletic competition. It doesn't hurt that its diminutive star is surprisingly athletic and agile on the track. Full Review