Step 1: Whip It good! Come on, you know I had to say that at least once … OK, now we can move on.
Step 2: Choose wisely. Drew Barrymore finds the perfect project for her directorial debut, infusing the roller derby fun-fest with her spunk and joie de vivre.
Step 3: Slap on ‘dem skates. That’s exactly what 17-year-old Bliss (Ellen Page) does after she encounters some girls in the Austin, TX roller derby circuit and decides she is born to skate fast and throw elbows. Of course, it’s going to be tricky since her mom (Marcia Gay Harden) wants her to be a beauty pageant queen and wouldn’t approve of her new passion. So, Bliss decides to keep it a secret, at least for a little while, and soon she’s rolling with the Hurl Scouts, the worst team in the league with the most spirit and biggest hearts. With the help of her new friends, Bliss soon discovers a whole new, bolder side to herself – and a new name: Babe Ruthless – as she learns to let go and whip it. Whip It good! Alright, I’ll stop.
Step 3: Gather ye friends. Whip It‘s themes are nothing new – the coming of age, sports genre – but what makes this little gem stand above the rest is the cast chemistry. Page does a slightly geekier version of her Juno character, and she meshes well with the others, including Harden as the seemingly single-minded mother who turns out to have more layers than we think; Daniel Stern as 
the understanding dad; Alia Shawkat as the snarky best friend; and of course, the rest of the Hurl Scouts: SNL funnylady Kristen Wiig as Maggie Mayhem, singer Eve as Rosa Sparks, stunt-woman-turned-actress Zoe Bell as Bloody Mary and Ms. Barrymore as Smashley Simpson (love the character names). There’s also Juliette Lewis as Iron Maven, Babe Ruthless’ nemesis. But of them all, though, I think I liked Andrew Wilson’s Hurl Scouts coach Razor the best. He’s so very determined to teach the Scouts the plays that win, it almost kills him – and me, with laughter, that is.
Step 4: Stick with what you know. It’s about time Barrymore directs something, since she’s been producing them for the past 15 years and acting in them for, well, forever. Even though Whip It is based on a novel of the same name by newcomer Shauna Cross (who also wrote the screenplay), this is something close to Barrymore’s heart; her spirit courses through it. And there are no first-time jitters in her execution. She has this down COLD, paying the most attention to the actors and their performances. Not to say Barrymore has found her niche and should stop acting, but certainly she has the chops to do it all.
Level of difficulty in watching Whip It: As easy as grabbing your roller derby teammate’s hand and having her whip you around the competition. Whip It good! Hee-hee.