A high water mark in the career of Raquel Welch: the film was written as a vehicle for her and she helped produce it, and gives one of her best performances: a single mum (Jodie Foster is one of the kids) who is determined to make it in the roller derby. Welch seems more natural than normal, chewing gum, slouching and skating her arse off. Still not brilliant or anything but beautiful
It's a gritty-ish early 70s piece - certainly no add for roller derby which is depicted as brutal, corrupt run by team owners such as Kevin McCarthy. The script depends too much on McCarthy doing Something Bad - whether encouraging Welch to brawl, trading her best friend, encouraging a rival with another skater, causing a male skater to be brutish. It's as if they couldn't bring themselves to criticise anyone else - and sometimes it's a bit silly.
But the milieu works - dingy bars and halls, cramped beds, crummy locker rooms. Its very feminist even if Raquel takes a shower or two and looks great in her costumes, with Raquel learning she can't rely on a man. (Though admittedly she's not the best mum in the world, dumping her two kids with her mum while she goes off skating.) The love scene between McCarthy and Welch is underwhelming but
Helena Kallianiotes gives an interesting support performance.
The title is completely perfect even though most of the action takes place in Portland.
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