Whip It! - Pash

Whip It! is the best female-driven movie of 2009, as far as this feminist is concerned.  The tag line is empowering as well: Be your own hero.  The story of Bliss Cavender's (Ellen Page) Roller Derby-ing into womanhood as Hurl Scout 'Babe Ruthless', this movie addresses many real issues young women face:  creating an identity while living under the influence of parents; finding a place in a new community; discovering one's sexual desires; first love; first heartbreak; taking a different road from your best friend; living up to one's passions and ambitions...


Such a multi-faceted story is a rare thing indeed, and it really should have attracted larger audiences.  Bliss's story really wouldn't be the same with out best friend Pash (Alia Shawkat).  The best part is, you can actually believe that they are best friends.  They've got great chemistry and aren't too cutesy, like the girls in Juno.  They are comrades in arms, working to get away from their tiny little town and jobs at the Oink Joint in whatever way possible:  Pash's goal is to get admitted into a good university, and while at first Bliss has no goals outside of avoiding being pushed into pageants by her mother, eventually Roller Derby becomes her passion, and Pash is there to support her, despite their diverging ambitions.  They tease each other, and Pash does doubt Bliss's ability to stick out the rough and tumble world of Roller Derby, but when she proves that she can, Pash is happy to support her.  Still, when Pash is arrested for an open container at a Derby event while Bliss is off gallivanting in a pool with boy-toy Oliver, she does get mad, and girls always know the most cutting, mean-spirited thing to say to one another.  Pash, afraid that an arrest record will prevent her from getting into an Ivy League school, insinuates that Bliss is wasting her time with Roller Derby.  Pash is written to have real feelings, and both of these girls are unsure of how to navigate the new terrain of their friendship, as they are both headed in very different directions.  When Pash forgives Bliss, and reveals that she intends to attend Columbia in the fall, Bliss is thrilled for her friend.  They are both smart girls, and neither of them allow boys to get in their way of the way they want to live their lives.  Whip It! is simply a fantastic film that offers a much deeper look at female friendships than the typical chick flick, and while Pash is a supporting character, she has more individualistic depth than any of the ladies in Sex and the City, and they had six seasons on HBO and two movies to flesh out their characters!  Well done, ladies.  Well done.

Stats: 
Screen time: 14 minutes and 5 seconds
Memorable quotes: "I'm your only friend!"  "Birdman is the only thing you have going for you."  "I give my parents straight A's, I get freedom!"  "I didn't have a Barbie-roller-skates-phase, I had a fat-kid-sits-inside-and-reads-phase."  "My belly hurts... there's a storm in there."  "Yeah, if you like referring to Dickensian orphans."  "I'm trying to get out of this armpit of a town just as much as you, and last time I checked, getting arrested in not the kind of extracurricular that Ivy League schools are looking for."  "If you hear a hint of pain in my voice when I say I've lost my best friend to a gang of rollerskating she-males, and the only highlight of my night was serving corn to a man who can't even chew it, then, I'd say you're wrong."  "That's why I like a good fondling - it's so much simpler."

Next week: Mean Girls...