Since 2004’s cult hit “Napoleon Dynamite,” there’s been something of a surge in whip-smart indie-teen movies. You know the ones; they’re set in decidedly unglamorous middle-American locations, and starring a decidedly unglamorous and badly dressed cast. Not that we’re complaining; they’re certainly a welcome break from the ditzy “geek girl attending LA high school takes off glasses and gets the school hunk” flicks so beloved back in the early noughties. “Whip It” is another of these films, cut from the same cloth as “Juno” or “Superbad,” and while it’s not exactly reinventing the cinematic wheel, it’s certainly a welcome addition to the genre.

It’s not easy growing up as Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page) in Bodeen, Texas. Her mom projects onto her faded pageant queen fantasies, while meat-headed classmates award social stature according to who can scarf down burgers the fastest. Life—as it does to all disenfranchised youths—sucks. But after sneaking out to watch a roller derby in nearby Austin, Bliss sets her sights on joining all-girl roller derby team the Hurl Scouts.

Forget the iffy movie poster, which suggests that the movie’s working title was something along the lines of: “Juno Girl Becomes a Courier.” Roller derby Austin-style is no roll in the park. Fierce, tattooed skater grrls with names like Maggie Mayhem (Kristen Wiig) and Iron Maven (Juliette Lewis) dress in skimpy uniforms and body-check each other around a makeshift ring. Bones are broken; blood pours out of noses, knickers are flashed and more than a few punches are thrown. It’s hardcore and it’s dangerous, but for 17-year-old Bliss, it’s a way, for a few nights a week, to escape the ennui of buttfuck nowhere high school life.

All the usual teen issues are present and accounted for (underage drinking, pushy parents, jackass classmates, broken friendships and cute boys are all introduced and summarily dealt with), but it’s the older roller girls that lift “Whip It” from mildly diverting to genuinely absorbing. Despite the grungy glamour of the derby circuit, most of these women are on the wrong side of 30 and leading flat, drab, small town lives. One works part-time at a grocery store; another’s a working single mom, while another once held dreams of making the Olympic skating team. All hint at lives half-lived, except for when they don their skates and join the fray, and one can’t help but wish that Barrymore, in her directorial debut, had explored them in a little more depth.

So yes, “Whip It” is another venture down the now well-worn path of indie teen dramady, but it’s fun, it toes the line perfectly between sweet sentimentality and eyebrow-raising naughtiness, and it’s got a whole lot of heart. As they say at the derby, we’ve been whipped.

4/5 Stars by Sarah Fung.

Directed by Drew Barrymore. Starring Ellen Page, Juliette Lewis, Kristen Wiig, Marcia Gay Harden. Category IIA, 111 minutes. Opening Jan 14.