Support the Girls is a 2018 work comedy written and directed by Andrew Bujalski (Computer Chess).
Lisa Conroy (Regina Hall) is the general manager of Double Whammies, a Hooters-type "breastaurant" where she's become protective over its young employees, including Maci (Haley Lu Richardson) and Danyelle (Shayna McHayle).
Over the course of a single day, Lisa's resolve is tested through a series of hardships and inconveniences that bring her life choices into doubt — is this really what she wants? AJ Michalka, Brooklyn Decker, James LeGros, Dylan Gelula (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), and Lea DeLaria (Orange Is the New Black) also star.
Support the Tropes:
- The Alleged Boss / Pointy-Haired Boss: Cubby is portrayed as an exceedingly incompetent boss.
- All for Nothing: Lisa's job troubles start when she bends the rules to fundraise for legal help for Shaina after she hits her Jerkass boyfriend with her car. She later discovers that Shaina has gotten back together with him and plan to use the money for his hospital bills, leaving her infuriated and demanding the money back. In the same scene, she learns that her husband has moved out right after she quit to spend more time with him and work on their relationship.
- Amicable Exes: Lisa is going through a separation with her husband so they aren't exactly best friends, but they're working through it as civilly as possible, with her even helping him find a new place to live.
- Beleaguered Assistant: Lisa is essentially this to Cubby, who owns the place. She receives the brunt of the work in running the place, while he's barely ever around.
- Brand X: Double Whammies is an obvious stand-in for Hooters, although it's just one location rather than a chain.
- Butch Lesbian: Regular patron Bobo.
- Cathartic Scream: The film ends with Lisa, Maci and Danyelle yelling their lungs out above a highway.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: After Cubby is cut off while driving, he follows the man to his house in an attempt to confront him and is taken down with one punch.
- Extremely Short Timespan: The bulk of the film takes place within a single day.
- Fanservice with a Smile: Double Whammies is a prototypical "breastaurant" where the waitresses are scantily clad, though Lisa asserts it's a family-friendly place in spite of it.
- First Day from Hell: For the new hires, they haven't come to work at Double Whammies on its best day.
- Hired for Their Looks: It's no secret why any of the waitresses have been hired.
- Insistent Terminology: Double Whammies is a family restaurant.
- Mama Bear / Team Mom: Old enough to act as a motherly surrogate to her young subordinates, Lisa is the glue that holds Double Whammies together — and don't you dare come for them.
- Married to the Job: It's suggested that Lisa has this kind of relationship to her work, with her marriage failing partially because of it. When one of the girls references this by name, Lisa is pretty uncomfortable with the implications.
- May–December Romance: Maci is in a relationship with the much "Professor".
- Naïve Newcomer: Jennelle and the other new hires.
- No Ending: The professional future of Lisa, Danyelle and Maci is up in the air at the end of the film, as well as Lisa's future with her ex.
- Single Mom Stripper: Downplayed, since Danyelle isn't a literal stripper, but she may as well be one given the job.
- Slice of Life: Just a day in the life of a "breastaurant" worker.
- Struggling Single Mother: Danyelle brings her son to the restaurant because she didn't have anyone to look after him, another waitress (who can't work the same shift as her because they're both black) picks him up to babysit.
- Take This Job and Shove It: By the end of the film, Lisa, Maci, and Danyelle have quit their jobs and applied to work for Double Whammies' main competitor. Lisa is also a mom, but her kids are grown and have moved out while her husband has not (despite her best efforts to get him to).
- Teen Pregnancy: Danyelle had her child while still in high school.
- The Three Facesof Eve: Lisa is the wife, Danyelle is the seductress, and Maci is the child.
- Token Minority: Invoked and discussed. Danyelle is the only black girl who works during her shift, because Cubby doesn't allow for more than one at a time. Same for Latinas.
- Work Com: Set almost entirely within Double Whammies, with some exceptions.
