"Whip It" and "Management"

IN THEATERS

Out today is the roller derby comedy, “Whip It.”

This is the story of an out-of-control girl named Bliss (Ellen Page) who is tired of her mother trying to push her into beauty pageants. So in an attempt to act out even more and just be difficult, she does the opposite and joins a roller derby team. Kristen Wiig and Drew Barrymore are among the girls who take Bliss under their wing and welcome her to a world where she can finally be herself.

This movie is Drew Barrymore’s first time out as a director of a film. And the film itself is an original one. Having had a friend that was involved in roller derby in the past and having seen a bout in person, it’s quite the experience. It’s also surprising that a movie hasn’t been made about it yet.

Early buzz about the movie is positive with critics praising the movie itself and Barrymore’s first shot at directing. After being such a hit in “Juno” a couple of years ago, Page is said to basically encompass that same character, but on roller skates.

The film, while it hasn’t had loads of promos on TV, still might do relatively well for a smaller independent-type movie. And there are always some of those smaller movies that usually have a good chance at being just as successful as some of their bigger competition.

ON DVD

Out this week on DVD is the comedy, “Management.”

Steve Zahn stars as Mike Cranshaw, a lonely guy working with his parents at their small-town Arizona motel. So when Sue Claussen (Jennifer Aniston) checks in, he is immediately in love and so begins the start of a journey that takes him all over the U.S. pursuing the girl of his dreams. The only problem is that Sue isn’t terribly impressed with Mike and her on-again-off-again boyfriend Jango (Woody Harrelson) only complicates matters. But Mike is a guy with a plan so his quest continues to find a way into her heart. You gotta love a guy with a plan.

Having been quite the limited release that didn’t make its way into many theaters — let alone even somewhat small towns — most people probably didn’t see this or even hear of it. For a smaller, independent movie, it wasn’t bad. Aniston still sort of plays her same character that she’s done in the past, only with somewhat of a hardened persona that doesn’t give her many chances to be the smiling, charming Aniston that we’ve seen before.

It’s Zahn who brings a lot of the smiles due to being unable to let Sue go and the lengths he goes in order to try and win her over.

All in all, it was an entertaining movie. Definitely a slower moving one, but entertaining still. Fans of either star should find enough here for a decent rental over the weekend.

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