Director Drew Barrymore

When I attended a critics' screening of JUNO starring Elliott Page (then Ellen), seeing that teen pregnancy comedy was the highlight of my afternoon that day in New York City. I felt that Page's performance was fabulous. So did the Academy as it brought Page an Oscar nomination. If I recall accurately, I was the only Black person at that screening and, at times, felt like I was the only person laughing out loud. Some of the veteran White male film critics sat through the movie like they were being audited. Maybe they were laughing on the inside.

My second favorite Page performance is in a film that marked the directorial debut of actress now talk show host, Drew Barrymore. This girl power comedy did moderate business at the box office. To me, it's a fun movie, well-acted and well-directed, that made for an entertaining couple of hours at the movies. Page starred as Bliss, an independent Texas teen with a deadpan expression who seems to be on the leash of her beauty pageant-obsessed mother. The mother drags her to beauty parlors and stores to prepare her for local pageant competitions. Bliss is miserable. As she says to her clueless mother, "Shoes are a gateway drug."

Bliss wants to be a roller derby queen. She needs to break away and follow her own spirit. Drew Barrymore has a supporting role in the movie and she did one mighty fine job as director. The 2009 comedy is called WHIP IT.

The WHIP IT cast includes Kristen Wiig, Jimmy Fallon, Marcia Gay Harden as the mom and Daniel Stern as the supportive, understanding dad. If, some weekend, you just feel like being a couch potato, I recommend seeing this movie. Make it a double feature with the Oscar-nominated 1979 coming-of-age comedy, BREAKING AWAY. That movie, about four Indiana guys who just graduated from high school and don't know what to do with their lives, was made on a low budget and did really big business at the box office. One of the teen friends is obsessed with an Italian cycling team and joins their competitive sport. In the cast are Dennis Quaid, Dennis Christopher, Jackie Earle Haley and Daniel Stern.

This, too, is a movie worth-seeing. It's full of humor and heart. When you watch it, pay attention to the Indiana teen played by Daniel Stern. If you see him in 1979's BREAKING AWAY, you will fully grasp the brilliance of Drew Barrymore casting him as the dad in 2009's WHIP IT. 

Thanks for reading my post. Have fun.