Release Date: October 2, 2009

(out of 4)

The three dimensions of Drew Barrymore: That’s what can be found in her new movie "Whip It" which marks her directing debut and also features her in a small role. The starring role belongs to Ellen Page whose character Diablo Cody – I mean, Bliss Cavendar – is everything like we’ve seen before by Page except it’s not old yet, at least it won’t be to all, because she is a young actress with undying spunk and a sharp tongue. Nobody else in the movies right now has that toxic-but-endearing combination.

From the ads, this movie promises you roller derby. This is one of the more obscure contact sports and certainly one of the very few that features girls (read: tomboys) elbowing and shoving each other out in the arena. The startling news is that Drew Barrymore is a much better action director than John McTiernan, at least the McTiernan who directed the atrocious “Rollerball” a few years back. Scenes taking place on the track are directed with kinetic vigor but also logical clarity. Barrymore wisely uses wide angle lenses on the action, effortlessly cutting back and forth between competitors without losing a sense of coherence.

The second dimension of Barrymore is that like any other chick flick she’s done as an actress or producer, she’s sensitive to the human story. Except there is something special going on with this story this is unlike most other stories we see in chick-tailored stories. Bliss has been propelled into competing in a beauty pageant, the Miss Blue Bonnet specifically, at the force of her domineering mother (Marcia Gay Harden). The father (Daniel Stern) is more of a football guy but he takes less interest in standing his ground in the family. Bliss, a 17-year old minor, has to sneak away by bus in order to get herself into the roller derby league.

An outcast at school, Bliss finds her way at home with the roller derby girls with pro names like Bloody Holly (Zoe Bell), Maggie Mayhem (Kristen Wiig), Smashley Simpson (yep, Barrymore) and a nemesis named Iron Maven (Juliette Lewis, the bad girl). As Bliss gets torn between two worlds and alienated from parents she can’t talk to, Maggie Mayhem – a ruthless hellcat in the arena, a choosy mom out of arena – becomes the big sister she never had. At an after party following derby games, Bliss meets a cool rocker dude named Oliver (Landon Pigg). First love is a dramatic subplot thrown into the mix, too, and it’s done without pap. By the way, the other cool dudes in the movie are horny Jimmy Fallon as the derby announcer and Andrew Wilson (Beef Supreme in “Idiocracy”) as the girls’ coach.

While slow in giving us action offerings, “Whip It” soon enough delivers on all the roller derby action that it promises, but the drama in-between contains lots of real, honest moments (the script is by Shauna Cross based on her novel). Heartache is accustomed, if not mandatory, in movies like this but for once the more tear-inducing scenes involves bitter conflict between mother and daughter. Gay Harden is an over-domineering mother with obviously an untreated mental disorder (I could guess which disorder but then again I’m not a doctor), and her 1950’s mentality of what a young girl is supposed to do and supposed to act like is a slap in the face against modern teen life. Bliss has to ditch mom and do her own thing. We get the inevitable make things right scene between mother and daughter, but it’s one of the weaker and more forced and tidy scenes the movie.

The movie leads to a league seasonal championship match, and Bliss by then has become a fan favorite as Babe Ruthless. It’s the kind of name that a dad would like. At the final checkpoint, Bliss hauls ass and gets her hugs and approval too. But forget the box score. Barrymore scores highest. Memorably she has created a love scene, an improbable but unabashedly wonderful one, which takes place underwater in an indoor pool. The third dimension of Barrymore is that she is also an amazing visual stylist.