Introducing Cochese?

I just got back from the premiere of Whip It at the Magnolia with Assassination City Roller Derby (I keep spelling that out because it's easier for those people who do "Who's talking about AC Derby recently?" searches) and I'm too wound up to go to sleep. Don't worry, I'll get to the review soon enough.

I headed there straight after training at White Rock Lake because I'd have been pushing it had I gone all the way home then all the way back uptown during rush hour. I got there and hung out with the skaters before the movie. It was pretty dead at first, but it started picking up closer to the show time. After the movie and in the lobby was really where I had the best time. I even stayed at the derby table through the second showing and afterwards with Tenille, Trigger and Ripper. I really wasn't planning on that, but it was totally worth it. I just like hanging out with people closer to my own age who have similar interests. I'd say the average age is somewhere in the late 20s or early 30s. It's awesome being a part of a group where you're not older than everyone else by like a decade.

Good news, everyone! I was dubbed with an Official Derby Name. I am now Cochese. It came about when one of the moviegoers was talking to Trigger Mortis and she was introducing herself, and as she turned to me, she wasn't quite able to accurately describe who I was and what I was doing there. I suggested "AC Derby fan numéro uno" which I'll admit is a bit presumptuous of me. That apparently wasn't good enough for Trigger because she insisted I pick out a Derby Name and use that to introduce myself. I was a bit taken aback at the honor, I'll admit, and Cochese was the first thing I came up with. Had I more time, I may have come up with something more clever, but what can you do? You don't say, "I'll get back to you on that" when you're offered a Derby name, you give yourself a freaking name. Mind you, Cochese isn't bad at all, and considering I'm facebook.com/cochese, it's not unwanted. There is, however, a Coach Ise for the Rubber City Roller Girls, so some modifications may have to be made. Of course, he's named after the Apache warrior Cochise, whereas I'm named after the fake character from the fake '70s cop show Sabotage, so there may not be a problem.

I do feel that now that I'm Named, I should be doing more to support the league other than typical fan stuff. Things like recording stats, timing penalties, keeping track of fouls, typical NSO (non-skating official) stuff. Hell, if I get good at that, I could go full-on zebra.

Oh, and apparently my blog post about my first AC Derby bout made it to Smack the Ripper, which would ordinarily be pretty awesome, but I kind of said some things about her mom...

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...It's just that her mom's very religious and I was feeling sorta awkward when she started in on how the Masons are a cult and about when I wouldn't confirm with her my love of Jesus. Hey, Ripper was cool with it, and I can completely understand. My parents do, say, and think some things that I personally find to be kinda nutty. They're just real far away so I don't have to deal with it most of the time.


Okay, so for the review of the movie. I'm not going to lie to you, I enjoyed the hell out of Whip It, but I realize that I'm totally biased. I really liked Ellen Page and Daniel Stern and the father-daughter relationship their characters had in the movie. Oh, and Zoë-freaking Bell was in it as Bloody Holly! Chances are you have no idea who I'm talking about, but I bet you've seen her work. She's an amazing stuntwoman who was Lucy Lawless' double in Xena, Uma Thurman's double in the Kill Bill movies, and she played herself in Death Proof. I was also particularly fond of the ending. As for the skating? Hooray for hip checks, though I wish I'd seen more booty blocks.

As far as gripes? They're really no more than the same sorts of realism gripes I have when watching a submarine movie (a freaking DOG on a sub, really?) For example, there were more elbows flying than at a Macho Man Randy Savage match. That'd never happen. Oh, and when Ellen Page's character finds out that one of her team mates is a mother, she acts all shocked. I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt and say it's the reaction of a naïve character, but really? Moms that are derby girls aren't in any conceivable way considered a rarity; it's actually pretty common.

Overall, I'd recommend this movie pretty highly. True, it's pretty easy to play Spot the Trope, but it's fun and it's funny, and it's got a lot of strong women kicking ass.