Regina Hall stars as Lisa in Support the Girls and the actress leapt at the opportunity to portray a character that is not only in practically every scene, but is the heart and soul of the ensemble, on and off screen.
I have interviewed Hall numerous times—for her roles in About Last Night, Think Like a Man Too, The Best Man Holiday and more—but I have never heard her describe a filmmaking experience quite as simultaneously meaningful and memorable as the one she had with writer-director Andrew Bujalski making Support the Girls.
The story centers on a sports bar, Double Whammies, that serves up their burgers and beer with a side of “curves,” as they say in their ads. Lisa is the general manager and as such, she is like a “den mother,” as Hall puts it, to these young ladies. What Hall most appreciated about the story is how these women are so upstanding, honorable and have integrity beyond belief and most of all, are family. They have each other’s back and form a sisterhood that has impossible to break.
Support the Girls takes place over one intensely demanding—and quite often comedic for the audience—day in Lisa’s life. Hall phoned us for an exclusive chat about the film, its maverick director and his uncanny ability to write such powerful, well-rounded roles for women, and what she hopes audiences will take away from the film landing everywhere August 24. Hint: It has everything to do with women supporting women.
The Movie Mensch: You’re in almost every scene. That had to be one of the great appeals of this film, but I would also think it is a supreme challenge. Was it and how do you keep it at such a high level when so much is required of you?
Regina Hall: It is challenging, but Andrew was so smart in how he shot the movie. We had a lot of great time to rehearse, all the girls had such fun and useful and bright energy. So, you go into it and you know it’s going to be work and challenging. At the same time, it’s such a great role. I love playing Lisa. I think Lisa was on the verge of exhaustion too, it helped served the character.
The Movie Mensch: Your writer-director, Andrew Bujalski, captures the spirit of a myriad of women so well. You got a front row seat to the guy, what insight can you share into how he can craft such powerful, diverse and compelling female characters?
Regina Hall: I don’t know! It’s shocking. I read the script and I met him. He’s such a compassionate and wonderful human being. That was part of it. It was interesting that a man wrote the story and directed. There’s the writing, and then the actual telling of it. How do you visual unfold these people? He did it with the most gentlest and most honest choices and there was such humanity and strength. Yet, the backdrop was a sports bar. Just the fact that he was able to that in that kind of restaurant is incredible.
The Movie Mensch: The title, Support the Girls, couldn’t have been more apt. It works on so many levels. When you got the script, what got you the most and just hooked your heart?
Reginal Hall: I read the script and I just liked them. I was coming from Girls Trip, which was a beautiful story about a hard-working group of people. Watching Lisa trying to do the right thing, every day. Watching the girls’ integrity in this place. [Andrew] also created these characters that were young girls. They were young. Lisa was such a den mom. And yet, they were so unapologetically themselves and wonderful. I guess I cared. That is a big part of what matters in that story, and in any story. It almost felt like a documentary the way he shot it.
The Movie Mensch: I was thinking that too, not giving anything away, but that ending with those long takes of you, and then the clouds above. He lingers on the subject and allows the viewer to soak in all the emotive power of the image.
Regina Hall: Oh, my goodness, so true. It was interesting that he was so clear about what those details meant and what that meant to her day. This was her place in the craziness of a day, the one place she would go, just to take the time in the film—that was an important part of the story telling.
The Movie Mensch: Was there one scene that you had circled that was either the one you were most excited for, or the one that you were most nervous for or most apprehensive for?
Regina Hall: Every scene, to me, is always important. Certainly, the scene with Cubby (James Le Gros) is emotional. I wanted that to feel right. Honestly, I’m always most—for lack of a better word, concerned—about the opening scene of a movie. Because that’s where people decide if they are going to follow these characters or not. So, the opening scene where it’s the orientation, we wanted the scene to feel really real, really important, but also there’s supposed to be some humor in that—that’s why Haley Lu (Richardson)… I just love her in that scene. Because the film is such a culmination, it felt like every scene was important. It all escalates into something. The apartment scene with Lisa’s husband and that scene with him in the car—that’s the first time you see Lisa’s personal life—felt really important. Again, they all do. That’s why Andrew is so great.
The Movie Mensch: It’s a compelling picture, and important picture because—I felt—the overriding theme was women coming together and supporting each other. Was that something you took away from Support the Girls as well?
Regina Hall: That’s what I took from it. That’s what I thought was so interesting when I read the script. There’s this one line, “I feel the sisterhood, it’s growing stronger.” In a place like that, that’s what made it worth working in it for them. They were there in this restaurant, but they still had an integrity. There’s something about going to work every day, doing the best you can and making an honest living… I loved the opportunity to be a part of telling that story.