Reviewed May 2010There is nothing on display that is either new or would impress you as what we expect from a director's debut - fresh ideas. It follows a template structured narrative style that is visible in most movies of this genre and tries to emphasize similar values as following the passion or about friendship, love lost and gain etc. Just a few working formulas are chosen, a new backdrop picked and hashed into a movie. Out of all these what goes right here is that they don't do a bad job at it. I have admired Ellen Page's performance in Juno and she is only getting better at it and this movie also features a host of good supporting performances too. The roller derby scenes could have been done a lot better and when I saw that Kiwi stunt woman I thought we are in here for a treat of sequences. There is absolutely nothing from her and overall a bit too disappointing. It's a movie where you don't get bored and the performances try to connect with you for a bit, but by the end memory of the movie fades away quickly.

For every sport there's surely a movie, and that's pretty cool. This movie has the typical "child wants to do something that parents don't approve of" plot so I can't really say it's anything new, but it is well-made and has a good cast. Ellen Page is the apex of faux high school actresses, but she gives up here "Juno" snark for actual passion (which is quite ironic as Alia Shawkat's character is named "Pash"). The roller derby is fun to watch, especially with Jimmy Fallon as the announcer. I was kinda ticked to see another movie about beauty pageants, but oh well. Marcia Gay Harden was very good as a mother who wants her kids to be like she was, but I just didn't feel any love between her and Page. Overall, it's an interesting movie but I wouldn't really want to watch it again.

this movie is quirky and exciting - i loved it so much i watched it several times and now look forward to adding it to my permanent collection i would definitely recommend this movie to anyone wanting to bust out of the rut of "top 10" releases. i watch a whole lot of movies, and sometimes they all start to just blur in together - like yeah that was a fun slasher movie or a fun action movie But this movie is totally different from most movies you see. It's about a young female who is stuck in a small town, small life scene and reaches out for something new and exciting and different and possibly a little dangerous that is personally fulfilling to her.

Likable" could be seen as a lukewarm compliment for a film. "Cute" could even be a backhanded pit-down. But this film is likable and cute in a very good way. The story of an off-beat 17 year old, well played by Ellen Page, finding herself by secretly joining the roller derby in Austin, Texas may be clichéd on the surface, but the lovely character detail and successfully offbeat casting make the film a quirky, likable winner. Not a great film, nor an "important" one, but one I enjoyed and was never bored by. And at a time where most Hollywood "entertainment" centers around blowing stuff up, its nice to see a mainstream film with rich characters and a big heart.