SUPPORT THE GIRLS

(director/writer: Andrew Bujalski; cinematographer: Matthias Grunsky; editor: Karen Skloss; music: ; cast: Regina Hall (Lisa), Shayna McHayle ( Danyelle), James Le Gros (Cubby), Dylan Gelula(Jennelle), AJ Michalka (Krista), Brooklyn Decker (Kara), Lea DeLaria (Bobo), Jana Kramer (Shaina), Haley Lu Richardson (Maci), John Elvis (Jay), Lawrence Varnado (Lisa’s ex-husband); Runtime: 90; MPAA Rating: R; producer: Houston King/Sam Slater; Magnolia Pictures; 2018)

“A pungent workplace comedy.“

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

A pungent workplace comedy written and directed by “mumblecore” movement filmmaker Andrew Bujalski (“Funny Ha Ha”/”Mutual Appreciation”). It takes place during one bad work day, that requires its harried manager to handle a number of intense work-related and personal problems.

The upbeat mother hen type general manager of the sports bar “Double Whammies” is Lisa (Regina Hall, who before her movie career was a waitress). It’s a Hooters-like place in an Austin Texas, strip mall near the highway. The busy day begins at lunch, with Lisa dealing with a would-be thief, one of the help, stuck in the ventilation system. Lisa then learns that one of her waitresses, Shaina (Jana Kramer), has rammed her car into her abusive boyfriend (the incident is off-screen). Therefore Lisa schemes to raise money to meet Shaina’s impending legal fees by arranging for several pretty women just hired for server jobs to give car washes in the parking lot (the donation box has a note saying “Support the girls”). Lisa asks her top girl, Danyelle (Shayna McHayle), to flirt with a next door sound-system business owner (John Elvis) so she can borrow speakers, busted in the robbery attempt, needed for the cable system. Lisa must also handle servers like Maci (Haley Lu Richardson), who come on too strong to some of the regulars. She also deals with rude customers (there’s a zero tolerance policy for sexual harassment in place), as well as deal with her bullying boss, Cubby (James Le Gros), a dick she keeps off her ass. He’s so slimy he orders her to schedule only one black woman per shift. The story is nothing to build-up an appetite for, but the love Bujalski shows for his girls and his social observations of human behavior make this low-budget indie a delicacy that goes down just right.

REVIEWED ON 8/27/2018 GRADE: B+   https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/