Whip It — Good! Drew Barrymore both acts in and directs this soon-to-be coming of age classic about the gritty girls on the current roller derby scene. Didn’t know there was one? Check in and check it out—if you live near a major metropolitan area, there’s probably one right under your nose.

And it’s filled with eyeliner wearing skaters with names like Maggie Mayhem (the ubiquitous Kristen Wiig from SNL), Smashley Simpson (Barrymore), Bloody Holly (Zoe Bell), Rosa Sparks (Eve), Iron Maven (Juliette Lewis) and Babe Ruthless (Juno’s Ellen Page), who stars as an ersatz beauty pageant contestant who would rather be rolling – and rocking. Her pushy Texas mother, exquisitely played by Marcia Gay Harden and her laid back father, Daniel Stern, have no idea that their pristine little cotillion contestant dons fishnets and a miniskirt by night to compete as one of the Hurl Scouts on a brassy, all-girls roller derby team. As she competes, Ruthless, aka Bliss Cavendar, discovers a hidden talent, a sisterhood she’s never known before, and even a little achy breaky heart. It all smells like team spirit under the guidance of a coach named, Lazor. Yes, he IS a Wilson brother--not Luke or Owen, although he sounds like them—it’s their older brother Andrew.

And Barrymore actually shows great promise behind the lens—more so than in front of it. She goes for poignant rather than slapstick—less Will Farrell, more Ellen Page, which suits the film just fine, although Jimmy Fallon adds some broad comic relief as Hot Tub Johnny Rocket, the rink announcer. Barrymore proves herself a fine storyteller, although she could have had a firmer hand giving the actors direction. Page waffles between cute to courageous a little too unpredictably. One minute her bottom lip is quivering, the next she’s hip checking competitors and sending them flying out of the rink. You’re not quite sure when she’s going to put up or tear up, but perhaps that’s the point of the movie—a teenager finding herself and deciding who she is – on wheels. It’s cute, clever and cunning—all you could want from a film of this genre.

–Rated PG-13

—Lisa Johnson Mandell