Whip It trailer

How awesome does this look? It's like Rocky meets riot grrrl with a sprinkling of My So Called Life on the side.


Official site. Directed by Drew Barrymore. Starring Ellen Page.
Jezebel approved.

Update: I saw "Whip It" with Sue Iconoclast and let me tell you, we had a good time all the time throughout the film. Drew Barrymore is off in the background pummeling her way toward comedic lunacy. Ellen Page is very cute and scrappy in that "I'm only 17--what the hell is going on around here?" way. And Kristen Wiig deserves more film roles. Somebody get on that, quick. Everyone is having a blast in this movie, so go join them. When's the last time you saw a all-girl sports movie that was fun-filled and had a healthy take on hipster love? I'll just wait while you think...

Kansas City Bomber trailer - 1972, starring Raquel Welch


My Grandma Tocha was a roller derby fan. She'd be watching it on one of her numerous TVs when we'd come to visit her house up the street from the Cow Palace. I don't know if she ever attended one of the games..? matches..? What do you call a roller derby event? A spectacle? But they were held at the Cow Palace, along with annual rodeos, gun and doll shows, the circus, Foghat concerts and all sorts of cultural events.

As a child, I marveled at the violence and confusion associated with this "sport." Is the last woman standing (rolling) the winner? What was the point? Besides the short-shorts and cat fights? Perhaps I just answered my own question.