Say whatever you like about Gaga and the Telephone video (yes, it's nine minutes of product placement; yes, it's nine minutes of complete confusion) but it's full of tough old broads who'd duke it out with you rather than hand over their last fag. No drippy, suffering sylphs here: just Beyonce as a big thighed Vargas girl and Gaga giving my favourite Californian ladygang, cholas, some video time: heavy on the leather and lipliner, please.
I've seen Drew Barrymore's directorial debut, Whip It! twice. The second time, it struck me why I liked it so much: I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen a film about a group of women that didn't focus on men, fertility or some traumatic issue. Bliss (Ellen Page) is a beauty pageant contestant who joins the Hurl Scouts, an Austin roller derby team.
From Bliss' gorgeous, plump best friend Patch to Juliette Lewis, beyond parody as lean, mean fighting machine Iron Maven, the film has a mostly female cast. One of the only men is Bliss' disposable love interest; the kind of good-looking band jerk you (hopefully) only go for when you're seventeen. It's an inspiring and uplifting film, and one that celebrates strength; both the namby pamby probably-important inner kind, and the kind where tattooed girls punch it out of each other in the roller derby rink.
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I CAN'T wait for Whip It! As soon as I saw the trailer I knew I would love it for all the girl love. You're right, there are too few films just about women.
ReplyDeleteI saw Whip It. I loved the roller derby aspect of the film, being an ex-rollerskater. I still have rollerboots! I loved the messaging, etc. But I just didn't think it was as good as it could've been. I found it a bit cardboard in parts. Like, the food fight scene? And the dancing in the cafe, scene? Both of those seemed a bit wooden to me.
ReplyDeleteJuliette Lewis was absolutely ace. But then she is always absolutely ace. I dunno. I just didn't think it was as ace as I thought it was going to be. The other half HATED it.
OMG I <3 LADY GAGA LOLZ
ReplyDeleteOoh, I want to see Whip It... I love Ellen Page more than ever since I found out she rides a bike :) You're so right about the films thing.
ReplyDeleteIt was kind of frothy (and I totally agree - I hated the food fight scene) but I still think for the first film from someone with as widespread a reach as Drew Barrymore, it was still pretty incredible. Because of how well-known she is, a really-quite-niche indie film with lots of good female characterisation will get seen by lots of people who would never normally grant their eyeballs access! And I think that's great - er, and my other half really didn't like it either.
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