Whip It (2009, USA)

Whip It isn’t a great movie. In a lot of ways, it isn’t even a terribly good one. It’s utterly predictable, and features pretty shaky direction along with some dubious roller derby action. But despite some of the sketchy assertions director Drew Barrymore has made to the press about her cast, I think it actually kicks a fair amount of ass that this is the project she chose for her directorial debut, and that due to her Hollywood profile, she was able to put some studio money and marketing savvy behind it. Because as cheesy as Whip It can be, at least it’s emotionally honest, and when was the last time you saw an American studio film that celebrates some of the more unconventional dreams that girls have, even if it plays those dreams out in the most conventional of ways?