Drew Barrymore's directorial debut is being criticized by some as more of a meta-movie than an original thought, but others seem to really dig it.
"The movie is miles more intelligent than most of the cream-of-wheat marketed to teenage girls. Funnier, more exciting, even liberating."
— Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
"...clicks on so many levels — heartwarming family story, rough-and-tumble display of grrrl power and a secondary but tender and convincing romance..."
— Peter Brunette, Hollywood Reporter
"Whip It suggests what might have happened if Juno had gone to a high school as poky as Napoleon Dynamite's and decided that although her mother wanted her to be a beauty queen like Little Miss Sunshine, she'd rather just strap on roller skates."
— Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
"The only thing that keeps [director] Barrymore's effort from playing like an American Movie Classics rerun is the soundtrack..."
— Robert Wilonsky, Village Voice
"There's a lot of underlying potential here, but there seems to have been no one around to whip it into shape."
— Ryan Stewart, Slant Magazine