This afternoon I to see the movie Whip It! with my mom. Everything you’ve heard is true: this is a flat-out awesome, rockin’ the grrl power, must-see film. Without giving too much away, because you really do have to see the movie for yourself, the basic plot is this: Ellen Page plays Bliss, a 17-year-old girl who along with her best friend lives in a small town near Austin, TX. Bliss joins a roller derby team called the Hurl Scouts in Austin (without her parents’ permission of course). From there it proceeds much like any other sports movie: the team trains, plays games and eventually makes it to the championship. What happens next? Go see the movie.

Unlike most sports movies, winning is not the only important theme. Bliss’ teammates (played by Drew Barrymore, Kristen Wiig and singer Eve) mentor her. Bliss gains confidence in herself as she becomes stronger and more athletic. It takes a while but she becomes more assertive in her personal relationships, too.

Whip It! rocks (and rolls) because it has strong, confident, smart and funny women working hard and playing harder. Women can be competitive. Women can be aggressive. (On that note, we can be assertive, too.) We’re not shrinking violets. We’re athletes. We’re women.

Go see this movie. Don’t wait until it comes out on DVD. See it in the theater and show Hollywood that we want to see more films with positive feminist themes. Take your best friend, your mom, your sister, your daughter and go see it.

P.S. I tried really hard not to give too much away!

Photo credit: Seattle Post-Intelligencer