Support the Girls: Film Review
I was pumped for Support the Girls – I had read many positive tweets, seen some fun GIFs and heard so much praise for Regina Hall – but it wasn’t the film I expected it to be so I felt a bit disappointed.
Hall stars as Lisa, the general manager of a Hooters-style highway sports bar called Double Whammies. The action takes place over one crazy day and follows Hall being tested by a variety of challenges such as a man breaking into the bar, the cable TV breaking before a big boxing match, and doing some illegal fundraising via a charity car wash to get her employee Shaina (Jana Kramer) out of trouble.
The setup for Support the Girls had great potential and I loved how the challenges kept growing and growing and Hall was becoming more stressed, resigned and tested as the day progressed. But it didn’t come together in the way I wanted. I visualised everything coming to a head in this spectacular showdown so what happened was a bit of a letdown. The ending was somewhat satisfying, but it just didn’t tie all the strands together in the most dramatic way.
Hall gives one of the best performances of her career. Lisa puts up with so much and she’s done. She tries to handle so much and take care of everybody when she needs to look after herself. She’s so supportive and like a momma bear to her girls and I enjoyed watching her relationships with them, such as the adorable Haley Lu Richardson as Maci. I love her and it was fun to see her playing such a simple, ditzy character who is all smiles and so welcoming to customers. Then there’s Krista (AJ Michalka), who has recently been fired for getting a massive tattoo, Danyelle (Shayna McHayle) who holds down the fort for Lisa, Jennelle (Dylan Gelula) as the exhibitionist newbie, and Bobo (Lea DeLaria) as a regular at the bar.
Support the Girls is a fun, feminist movie and I liked seeing the problems unravel and learning more about the characters in the bar. I just felt like it was heading for an incredible ending and we ended up with an annoying, disappointing one.
In selected cinemas from Friday 28th June