Thanks to the success of the Jason Reitman hit comedy Juno, 22-year-old Canadian actress Ellen Page is on many directors' most-wanted lists. In her latest effort, Whip It, the lucky director is Drew Barrymore.
Having come a long way from the cute little girl in Steven Spielberg's E.T., and gained experience as a respected producer, this is Barrymore's debut in the director's chair.
Inspired by the semi-autobiographical Derby Girl by Shauna Cross, Whip It is an action-filled journey of self-discovery.
Bliss Cavendar (Page) comes from a family where winning beauty pageants means a bright future. But the rebellious teen has other ideas.
Bliss stumbles into the world of roller-skating derbies, and finds it so compelling she secretly tries out for underdogs the Hurl Scouts. Soon, she's trading her polished pageant life for the bruising world of skating, all the while struggling with romance and confrontations with friends and family.
It was the coming-of-age plot, humour and vibrant characters that convinced Barrymore to put on her directorial hat for the first time.