My college roommate dyed her hair and pierced her body on a fairly regular basis. One night I returned to our room, and she was studying her face in the mirror. “I just pierced my nose,” she said. “Oh,” I said. I never did these things myself, and when I graduated from college I felt like the window for dying my hair unusual colors or piercing my belly button had closed. But my roommate has never felt this way, and her stylistic choices prove that you can be a reasonably successful adult with a decent job, newborn baby and loving husband, and still have blue hair.

I thought of my roommate while watching “Whip It!,” the new roller derby/girl-power/sports comedy directed by Drew Barrymore. The movie opens with our young protagonist, Bliss Cavender (Ellen Page), competing in a beauty pageant; shortly before she walks across stage, her best friend dyes her hair blue. Naturally, Bliss’ mother (Marcia Gay Harden) is horrified, and schedules an emergency appointment with the hairdresser.

The conflict over blue hair is about more than blue hair, of course. Bliss’ mother is a well-meaning woman who believes beauty pageants lead to success; Bliss thinks this is stupid. And when Bliss sees a flyer for a roller-derby bout, she and her best friend, Pash (Alia Shawkat, who played Maeby in “Arrested Development”), sneak off to see it. Bliss has a blast, and decides to try out for the team. She makes it, and becomes the team’s best player, but keeps her growing fame on the roller derby circuit — where she’s known as Babe Ruthless — a secret from her parents.

I’m sure you can see where this is all going. Eventually Bliss’ mother will find out about her secret roller derby life, and throw a huge fit. The father, who loves his daughter but has always yearned for an athletic son, will be more understanding. There will be a romance with a boy — in this case a wan and skinny indie-rocker — conflict with the best friend, and excitement as Bliss’ team finally gets its act together and vies for the championship. Along the way, the usual lessons will be learned. Bliss will learn to follow her heart, and not date people just because they’re into cool music. Her mother will learn to respect the dreams of her daughter. Her father will learn that he doesn’t need an athletic son when he’s got a daughter like Bliss.

Overall “Whip It!” is pretty formulaic. What makes the film a good time is the unusual milieu, the spirited performances and the good cheer that pervades the entire film — Barrymore has made a film that seems inspired by the sunny characters she’s played in films such as “The Wedding Singer” and “50 First Dates.” There are no bad people in this film — only misguided people, who have good hearts and want to do the right thing.

The best thing about “Whip It!” is the performance by Page, who, after this film and “Juno,” deserves to be a star. She’s something fresh — an intelligent, appealing actress who likes to play offbeat characters and can do comedy as well as drama. Some people questioned her talent after “Juno,” and wondered whether she had real range, but she’s quietly building an interesting resume. (If you don’t believe me, check out her 2005 film “Hard Candy,” in which she turns the tables on a creepy child molester. I didn’t much like this film, but Page is outstanding.)

Equally good is Harden. Her character could easily have been a monstrous caricature, but Harden succeeds in making her sympathetic and vulnerable. The whole cast is fine — I particularly enjoyed Daniel Stern, as Bliss’ father, and Juliette Lewis, as Iron Maven, the star of a rival roller derby team.

Also interesting is the setting — Bodeen, Texas, which Bliss and Pash yearn to escape. Without hammering the point home, Barrymore seems to be saying something about class, and what it feels like to be an outsider in a small town. Bliss and Pash work as waitresses at the Oink Joint; Bliss’ mother works long hours as a mail carrier. A member of Bliss’ team is a single mother who never goes out after bouts because she has a young son; most of the characters drive used cars.

In this environment, it’s easy to see how something like roller derby could captivate a girl like Bliss, and provide a brief respite from the banality of her everyday existence.

In June, I saw a roller derby bout in Troy for the first time, the Hellions of Troy versus the Long Island Rebels. It was fun but flawed entertainment; I enjoyed myself, but wasn’t sure whether roller derby had real staying power, or I would ever watch it again. But “Whip It!” captures the anarchic spirit of the whole thing — the goofy names, the cheesy but real violence, the odd rituals and strangely empowering aspects of the sport.

The film made me think “Roller derby — that looks fun,” which is why I’m posting links to the websites for the Hellions of Troy and the Albany All-Stars, who are holding their recruitment night on Oct. 22. Just in case you’re interested.

To visit the Hellions of Troy, click here.
To visit the Albany All-Stars, click here.

SILENT FILMS

The Albany Public Library will be showing old silent movies with live musical accompaniment on the next three Wednesdays. I haven’t seen any of these films, but they’re all supposed to be good. The films are free, and start at 7 p.m.

Oct. 14 “The Lost World” with music by Beware! The Other Head of Science. This is the 1925 film adaptation of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle book, not the sequel to “Jurassic Park.”

Oct. 21 “Sunrise” with music by Todd is New Each Moment and Dead Friend. This Oscar winning film from 1927 is about a farmer who falls in love with a city woman who tries to convince him to kill his wife.

Oct. 28 “The Unknown” with music by Eric Halder. This 1927 film stars Lon Chaney and Joan Crawford as circus performers in a macabre love story.

Got a comment? E-mail me at sfoss@dailygazette.net.