Work / Bujalski

Published: Sept. 19, 2018, 8:03 p.m.

b'\\u201cVery rare are the movie depictions of restaurant work that evoke the mental and emotional dissonance required to get through an eight-hour shift,\\u201d April Wolfe wrote in her Film Comment review of Support the Girls. \\u201cAndrew Bujalski\\u2019s Support the Girls\\u2014which takes place predominantly within a topsy-turvy 24-hour period, as the manager of a T&A sports bar juggles the concerns of every needy patron and employee\\u2014portrays precisely that odd mix of knowing self-abjection and bubbling, flirtatious confidence present in real-life restaurant workers.\\u201d The portrayal of work on screen is a practically inexhaustible topic for study, but recently we dipped a toe into the discussion, with a little help. A few weeks before the fall festival glut, I joined filmmaker/critic Sierra Pettengill, author of the Chick Strand feature in our September/October issue, for an interview/discussion with Bujalski concerning Support the Girls and the challenges of depicting work on screen.'