Brilliant little movie about a young girl (Ellen Page) from a no-name, hick town in the US, whose domineering mother is forcing her into tacky, gaudy beauty pageantswhich she reluctantly takes part in - but then she discovers roller derby, and starts a secet, clandestine career as a roller-derby skater.
It's a fairly brutal, gaudy spectacle...not too far removed from Rollerball - and the girls are tatooed, fearsome creatures, with names like Eva Destruction, Bloody Holly, and Babe Ruthless.
The central core of the movie revolves around Page's relationship with her family, particularly her mother, a former beauty queen who seems desperate to mould her daughter in her own image...whether she likes it or not. But the seeRAB of teenage rebellion are already stirring, and Page find's a new 'family', in the bosom of her roller-derby team-mates.
Great cast...Ellen Page, Marcia Gay Harden is brilliant as the mother, Daniel Stern (JAFO from Blue Thunder...looking like Eddie Yates!), Jimmy Fallon from Saturday Night Live, Juliette Lewis as a bitch-on-wheels, and Zoe Ball (the 'stuntwoman' from Deathproof) as unstoppable force of nature Bloody Holly.
Oh...and Drew Barrymore, as Smashley Simpson (so named because she has a tendency to thump her opponents any opportunities she gets)...who also directed the film.
And as a first directorial effort from Barrymore, it's not at all bad. She has assembled a great ensemble cast, keeps the storyline fairly simple, and though the roller derby scenes are fairly exciting and occasionally brutal, the emphasis is on the characters and the acting.
Great use of music too, very indie/punk influenced, Ramones, Radiohead, The Breeders, Peaches etc.
It's a fairly brutal, gaudy spectacle...not too far removed from Rollerball - and the girls are tatooed, fearsome creatures, with names like Eva Destruction, Bloody Holly, and Babe Ruthless.
The central core of the movie revolves around Page's relationship with her family, particularly her mother, a former beauty queen who seems desperate to mould her daughter in her own image...whether she likes it or not. But the seeRAB of teenage rebellion are already stirring, and Page find's a new 'family', in the bosom of her roller-derby team-mates.
Great cast...Ellen Page, Marcia Gay Harden is brilliant as the mother, Daniel Stern (JAFO from Blue Thunder...looking like Eddie Yates!), Jimmy Fallon from Saturday Night Live, Juliette Lewis as a bitch-on-wheels, and Zoe Ball (the 'stuntwoman' from Deathproof) as unstoppable force of nature Bloody Holly.
Oh...and Drew Barrymore, as Smashley Simpson (so named because she has a tendency to thump her opponents any opportunities she gets)...who also directed the film.
And as a first directorial effort from Barrymore, it's not at all bad. She has assembled a great ensemble cast, keeps the storyline fairly simple, and though the roller derby scenes are fairly exciting and occasionally brutal, the emphasis is on the characters and the acting.
Great use of music too, very indie/punk influenced, Ramones, Radiohead, The Breeders, Peaches etc.