Lisa (Regina Hall) is the hard-working manager of a tittie bar. She’s a little defensive about it; you might hear her call it a family sports bar “with curves,” but the uniforms leave little room for debate.
On this one day in particular, Lisa is dealing with a thief stuck in the vents after a robbery goes wrong, an undocumented worker in her kitchen, TVs that aren’t working minutes before a big game, an employee who’s dating a customer, a revolt over a missing pool table, and a half dozen new girls who show up for interviews and training. Plus there’s the impromptu car wash she’s organizing to raise money for another employee dealing with a DUI, which she has to hide from her boss, who’s an asshole. Oh, and her marriage is falling apart.
Despite the fact that she’s undervalued and underpaid, Lisa clearly cares about her job, and about doing her best. And she definitely cares about her girls. Usually when your employer starts calling you ‘family’ it’s because they’re about to ask you to do something for nothing. But when Lisa says it, she means it. She’s got misplaced optimism coming out the wazoo but on a day like this, even Lisa’s perky sunshine demeanor will be tried.
Support The Girls is a workplace comedy, but it tackles bigger themes than that. You just might not notice because writer-director Andrew Bujalski has such an impressively light touch. He manages to keep everything witty and bright. His biggest asset is of course Regina Hall, who never stops shining her light. Lisa is doing her best to sell the American Dream, even though it’s not her dream and she’ll never see the profits. Bujalski clearly has compassion for Lisa though Lisa never asks for any. Hall makes sure that her unending kindness is seen as strength, not weakness. These are perhaps tough to pull off amid a cacophony of T&A, but that’s why you buy them. Because integrity is not what you expect to find at your local Hooters, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there. The smartest thing Bujalski does is that he never, ever underestimates the women in his film.
To respect the role of women, there is already a lot of talk about the director of the film. The story is fascinating and according to your story, the most fun. There is no doubt that we will see it after reading its excellent description.
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“To respect the role of women”
Just respect the women would be enough, our “role” we pick out ourselves, thankyouverymuch!
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I really want to see this as I’ve heard great things about and I was extremely surprised to hear that Regina King won the New York Film Critics Circle prize for Best Actress.
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“Regina King”
That the same actress as Regina Hall from this flick?
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Oh shit. I got the name wrong. I’m sorry. I remember that both Regina Hall and Regina King won acting prizes from the New York Film Critics Circle. Total brain fart.
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I say the wrong Regina all the time myself – was especially confusing last year during awards season. It’s not just a Regina thing. I mix up anyone with similar names.
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Sean confuses Bill Paxton and Bill Pullman!
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I can see where it happens. I often mix up Dermont Mulroney with Dylan McDermott sometimes.
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You are great in your thoughts.
Best wishes
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Sounds uplifting.
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I liked this. I felt like they didn’t know quite how to end it but everything else worked really well. Hall and Richardson were great.
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Hm-m … maybe. š
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I too, found myself having a soft spot for this little hidden gem when I was lucky enough to see it for the Spirit Awards. it’s not the best shot or most well done – it’s just got that something special. aka #GirlPower š
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Yeah, I think her unending compassion is endlessly fascinating. I could watch a whole other movie following her home.
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