August 29, 2018 The Skanner Page 7
FILM REVIEW: A Day in the Life of Gutsy Sports-
Bar ‘Den Mother’ In ‘Support the Girls’
by Kam Williams
For The Skanner News
D
ouble Whammies is an un-
remarkable watering hole
located along a desolate
strip of highway outside
Austin, Texas where truckers
and regulars can slip in and out
quietly without drawing much
attention to themselves. The
seedy sports bar, a la your typical
Hooters, is known for its booze
and finger food served by scanti-
ly-clad waitresses in cut-off jeans
and low-cut tops.
The place is run with an iron
fist by Lisa Conroy (Regina Hall),
a very-protective den mother
who takes seriously her mission
to shield her employees from per-
verts inclined to cross a line to
fraternize improperly. Though
she shows her tough side to the
clientele, the tenderhearted man-
ager handles her staff with big
kids’ gloves.
Lisa’s motley crew ranges from
naive newcomers to hardened
pros, and she’s blessed with a
knack for knowing precisely
what sort of support each needs.
Unfortunately, she’s not appreci-
ated by Double Whammies’ own-
er, Cubby (James Le Gros), proba-
bly because the club always seems
to have a host of unresolved woes.
For example, at the moment,
there’s a burglary in progress
‘Support the Girls’
thanks to a hapless perp who got
himself stuck in a ceiling vent.
Lisa knows the show must go
on, so instead of summoning the
police, she has her own way of
dealing with such a distraction
which keeps the wheels turning
but frustrates her skeptical boss.
That’s just the way it goes at this
quirky haunt.
Written and directed by An-
drew Bujalski (Beeswax), the film
features many of the hallmarks
of the low-budget genre on which
the mumblecore maven built his
career. The picture effectively
paints a poignant portrait of a day
in the life of a humble, dedicated,
working-class heroine just trying
to make a buck.
Remember how the indie-flick
“Paterson” (2016) managed to ele-
vate a lowly New Jersey poet/bus
driver? Well, this tale of female
empowerment pulls off a similar
feat. Raw-edged cinema verite’
cut to the bone, if that’s your taste.
Very Good HHH
Rated R for profanity, sexual ref-
erences and brief nudity
Running time: 90 minutes
To watch a trailer, visit TheSkan-
ner.com.
Arts & Entertainment
Uganda cont’d from pg 6
longtime President Yow-
eri Museveni after win-
ning a parliament seat
last year.
“We pledge to remain
vigilant about his on-
going detention and to
use our voices ... to raise
awareness about his
case,” said the letter also
signed by Chrissie Hyn-
de, Femi Kuti, Brian Eno
and other global musi-
cians.
The government de-
nies allegations that it
tortured Ssentamu, and
the military released a
video of the 36-year-old
opposition leader smil-
ing during the visit by
the deputy speaker, Jacob
Oulanyah.
“This should not have
happened,”
Oulanyah
said of the beating. “It
was not necessary. But it
happened.”
Despite being in pain,
Ssentamu was in a “hu-
morous” mood during
the visit, Oulanyah told
reporters.
Ssentamu is expected
to make an appearance
in a military court on
Thursday. He has not
been seen in public since
Aug. 13, when he was
campaigning in an elec-
tion to choose a lawmak-
er in the northwestern
town of Arua.
Museveni also was in
Arua at the time, cam-
paigning for a rival can-
didate who eventually
lost. While the president
was departing, authori-
ties said, his motorcade
was pelted with stones by
people associated with
Ssentamu and the candi-
date he backed, Kassiano
Wadri.
Ssentamu’s driver was
shot and killed, allegedly
by security forces.
Ssentamu,
who
is
charged with illegal pos-
session of firearms, was
arrested with four other
opposition lawmakers,
three of whom face trea-
son charges. A fifth legis-
lator, Francis Zaake, has
been hospitalized with
injures allegedly sus-
tained during detention.
Security forces in re-
cent days have violently
put down street protests
by Ugandans demand-
ing Ssentamu’s release.
Scores were arrested
in riots in Kampala on
Monday, and video by lo-
cal broadcasters showed
men in military uni-
forms beating up people,
including at least two
See UGANDA on page 11