Lisa is the general manager of Double Whammies, a sports bar that features skimpily dressed waitresses. Always nurturing and protective of her staff, she soon faces one trying day that tests her optimism at every turn.
Back in December of 2018, former US president Barack Obama posted his recommended top picks of the year for books, movie, and songs. Sitting within his Top 15 movies of the year, was the drama-comedy, Support The Girls. Having a former president recommending a smaller indie film about a breastaurant (that is a portmanteau, not a spelling error) is definitely enough to get me to check it out.
A breastaurant is, of course, a restaurant with a theme somewhat based around exploiting and sexualising the female form. Much like the American chain restaurant Hooters, Support The Girls is centred around a restaurant that incorporates the tiny shorts and low cut tops that accentuate the natural curves of its female employees. The restaurant in the film--called Double Whammies--however, is managed by a woman that considers her point of difference being that a family-friendly reputation and respect towards the employees are more important than pleasing every customer.
It's this apparent contradiction between surface-level appearances and what the restaurant aims to represent that creates much of the appeal in the film. While it initially looks like it is poking fun at the breastaurant industry, Support The Girls actually fills a common knowledge gap in the audience. Many people scoff at the idea of a breastaurant, looking down on the workers and customers, effectively branding the business in the same way that they would a strip club or brothel (and those two businesses have their own distinct differences, but that is a topic for another day). Support The Girls showcases the humanity of the enterprise, explaining what the real attraction of the business is while humanizing the employees that work there.
What is interesting about the film is the tone. Regina Hall is the lead actress--which personally never bodes well when the film is widely advertised as a comedy--but this isn't really an over-the-top slapstick. While there are definitely humorous elements and events that occur, it all happens within the dramatic elements; that is to say that everything that occurs has context associated with it, and drives the story forward and heightens the drama. As such, on initial viewing, I was tempted to disregard the film's comedy status completely, until I thought about the events at their basest level.
The film has no strong narrative direction, and despite the film largely following Regina Hall's character as she conducts her management role, that is simply because of her position in the hierarchy. The film doesn't so much follow Hall, as it encompasses all that enter the establishment of Double Whammies; employees and their families, customers, police and contractors are all considered equal and have the same opportunities of having their own small character development arcs. The lack of a strict direction for the narrative allows a much more organic development of all of the characters.
From a technical standpoint, the cinematography is fine. There is nothing overly exciting that stands out from a visual standpoint, but the film never comes across as bland or uninteresting either. There are always enough mini-stories (or more specifically employee dramas) going on simultaneously to keep the film feeling spontaneous and unpredictable. The diversity of the staff is also well executed. While there are a couple little plot points that revolve around ethnicity, as a whole, the diversity feels authentic and contextually organic.
The cast of characters had a good mix of personality types (and Regina Hall has to change personality types herself frequently throughout the film depending on what management style works best with what person). Shayna McHayle (known by her rap moniker Junglepussy) impresses with a great level of sarcasm and snarkiness to her character of Danyelle, but the standout performance comes from Haley Lu Richardson's character, Maci (who is so adorable that I may be crushing on her now). Her portrayal of that young, bubbly personality that is super approachable and gets along with everyone is absolutely perfect and really drives home the reality of working at these establishments.
Support The Girls has a lot going for it. It covers a unique topic that helps to build empathy towards a section of the service sector that is largely disrespected and does so without coming across as preachy at any point. The lack of direction in the narrative does take some patience to get used to, and the film can sometimes come across as reactionary rather than responsive, giving the effect of the cast being passive characters that get caught up in events, rather than driving the plot forward themselves. This passive aspect of their characters is another aspect that does receive some development by the film's conclusion, however.
Support The Girls is believable, grounded, and eye-opening. Definitely a worthy recommendation, Obama.