A bouncy, female-centric portrait of a misfit teenager finding her place in the world, "Whip It" isn't the most original movie you'll see this year. But first-time director Drew Barrymore illustrates an edict which vastly more experienced filmmakers would be wise to follow: If you surround yourself with a stellar cast and invest the proceedings with heart and energy, you'll earn the audience's attention.

Ellen Page, in yet another variation of her "Juno" persona, plays Bliss Cavendar, a hipper-than-thou teen living in a dead-end Texas town. When her prim-and-proper mother (Marcia Gay Harden) takes her to Austin for a shopping trip, Bliss learns about a world that she knew nothing about previously: Roller derby.

A few days later, she sneaks back to Austin with her best friend (Alia Shawkat) and attends a match. The women she meets there -- tomboyish and independent-minded just like herself -- are an inspiration. Before long, she earns a place on "The Hurl Scouts" and is sneaking off regularly for practice and matches. (The film's title refers to a particularly effective move used on the roller derby rink.)

Based on a young adult novel called "Roller Girl" by University of Texas grad Shauna Cross, "Whip It" plugs into an intriguing, real-life milieu: The roller derby leagues that sprang up in Austin in the early 2000s, and inspired a derby renaissance across the country.

The most interesting aspects of the script (also by Cross) focus on the women who populate this oddball sport. We meet a single mother who goes by the stage name Maggie Mayhem (Kristen Wiig); after elbowing, bumping, grinding and skating on the rink, she rushes home to care for her son. Barrymore plays a delightful klutz named Smashlee Simpson.

Most compelling of all is Juliette Lewis as Iron Maven, Bliss' chief rival, a woman in her late 30s who has struggled for years to find something she was good at -- and who now fiercely resists sharing her spotlight with anyone.

Less successful are the exchanges between Bliss and her mother, and the all-too-predictable central plot device: Will Bliss be able to keep her derby life secret from her parents, or will everything be exposed on the night of the teen beauty pageant in which her mother has begged her to compete? Take nothing away from Harden and Page, who invest these scenes with conviction.

Harden, especially, deserves props for transforming a paper-thin conceit into a flesh-and-blood character. (Watch the way she furtively smokes a cigarette or goes about her job as a postal worker, and you get a deep sense of this woman's complicated inner-life.) But there's no escaping the fact that we've seen this same conflict played out hundreds of times before.

Fortunately, the saving graces here are many: Barrymore films the roller derby scenes with evident joy (the expert editing is by Dylan Tichenor, who was nominated for an Oscar for "There Will Be Blood"). She also does a surprisingly savvy job bringing to life the weird-and-proud-of-it vibe of Austin -- all the more impressive considering that most of the film was shot in Michigan.

And everywhere you turn, there's another sly, completely unexpected supporting performance. Watch out for Andrew Wilson (Luke and Owen's older brother), who plays The Hurl Scouts' coach. Wilson never once condescends to his character's zeal -- this may be one of the most affectionate portraits of coaching ever seen.

Just as arresting is Shawkat ("Arrested Development") as Bliss' best friend, an unshowy part that this fine young actress plays with understated grace and charm. If nothing else, Barrymore is a superb director of actors -- and "Whip It" is finally so confident and sincere that it leaves you eager to see what this budding auteur will do next.