Whip It (Drew Barrymore, 2009)
I guess Barrymore knows something about the other side of the tracks, having gone off the rails during her crazy youth, but going past the grunginess, alter-egos and the alterno-marginalia aspect of these women and the roller-derby environs I get the feeling that class, isolation, small town blues and that sort of stuff is not so much of a concern. This was a bit of a mess. Casting was great, and the performances were good too. It wanders, though, with bland staging and dull action. Criminally, the characters are barely addressed, coming off as ciphers for each dramatic arc and nothing more. They had so much to give, so much, and they get nothing from Drew. The camera just wanders blithely along, noticing stuff, but never really interrogating. Another one of these insider directors, palling around among the cast, when there's a bloody movie to be made. Hurt them, Drew, really hurt them, and you'll get gold. Or, go and watch
Breaking Away instead.