This article contains spoilers for Maintenance Required
Earlier this month, Prime Video released its newest rom-com, Maintenance Required. The film features a strong trio of women, starring Riverdale’s Madelaine Petsch, Katy O’Brian from A24’s Love Lies Bleeding, and The Outerbanks’ Madison Bailey. Unfortunately, they did not form as strong of a connection between the women as one might hope.
The film takes place in California and centers around Charlie O’Malley (Madelaine Petsch). After her father passed away, Charlie inherited his auto shop, O’Malley’s. With the help of her friends, Cam (Katy O’Brian) and Izzy (Madison Bailey), they are able to keep O’Malley’s afloat.
Then, enters Beau, played by the rather charming Jacob Scipio, the closer for Miller Boys car company, who has just been assigned to open operations across the street from O’Malley’s. He meets Charlie when he goes to scope out the competition, and the chemistry between the two is scorching. Unbeknownst to the pair, they have been conversing anonymously through a car forum.
The premise sounded promising, but I was left with a bit of emptiness after watching the film. For starters, Charlie didn’t have a passion for the auto shop. On one hand, that could be okay, as she has a different car-related dream she wishes to accomplish. At the same time, I felt like the auto shop and her future endeavor could’ve been combined. Instead, she wishes to work on restoring old cars, not on keeping the shop running, especially if they’re losing business. Throughout the film, she attempts various strategies to keep O’Malley’s relevant and a staple in the community. For example, she allows Izzy to do the customers’ nails while they wait for their car, and later, Izzy and Cam get Charlie to speak on the news about O’Malley’s impact.
In the end, O’Malley’s loses to the Miller Boys and Cam goes to work for them. The front of O’Malley’s is turned into Izzy’s nail salon, and the garage is where Charlie works on restoring vehicles with Beau. For me, this ending had me underwhelmed. Charlie’s storyline with O’Malley’s could’ve focused on how she wants to expand the auto shop so she could keep the current business going and add classic vehicle restoration. Even a spot for Izzy’s nail salon could’ve stayed. Having the Miller Boys win in the end is not what I saw coming. In real life? Sure. In a rom-com? No. Cam going to work for the competitor didn’t sit well with me, especially when it meant that a women-owned car service was shut down.
On that note, the friendship between the girls should’ve been stronger. As they are a small, women-run business, they are in a unique position. Charlie, Cam, and Izzy are presented as vastly different from each other on the outside, so exploring their connections and even how they came to be friends would’ve been great to see. Whenever the women are chatting in the breakroom, they focus on how Cam has boys on rotation, and Charlie never wants to date anyone. The only other thing they really talk about is if O’Malley’s can be saved. I wanted to see a deeper connection! Romance is great and all, but friendships are even better. Sue me.
Speaking of romance, if you’re going to do a trope, don’t try too hard. I’ve felt that in this current age, films and TV tend to rely heavily on tropes more than ever. That’s not a bad thing, as tropes are classics for a reason. Although, it’s important to be careful and not overdo it.
Having Charlie and Beau communicate anonymously with each other online, and then meet in person, but still unaware of who the other is, is fun! Of course, it’s going to make the viewer anticipate the reveal. What initially got me is that, since they don’t know their identities, they are still developing feelings for each other both online and in person. I understand it, but it also made me think about how, in another world, talking to both of these people simultaneously is like leading two people on, which I felt weird about.
Besides that, Charlie doesn’t know from the start that Beau is a Miller Boy. Online crush and corporate competition? Double whammy. When she finds out that he’s a Miller Boy, she wants nothing to do with him. Naturally, she feels lied to and used. They avoid each other as much as possible after that. Online, however, they unknowingly continue their online romance.
Eventually, the two decide to meet in person, with Charlie using her wrench keychain to signal it’s her. Beau takes his friend to scout out the mystery woman, and they tell him it’s Charlie. Instead of approaching her and telling her that he’s who she’s been speaking to, he acts surprised to see her there and teases her for being there. Making comments asking why she’s there, if she’s waiting for a date, all while noting that her date hasn’t arrived.
I kept waiting for him to reveal the truth, but instead, Charlie snapped and called him out for being “heartless” and “empty.” Beau doesn’t like that, and starts to leave, before he does, he tells her that whoever the guy she’s waiting for, would’ve wanted to meet Charlie, not Charlotte—a reference to her full name Charlotte, which she doesn’t go by as she never felt like one. One reason he makes this comment is that for the date, she had changed out of her overalls and into a black dress. I hated with a passion that he said that to her because it implies that women cannot get dressed up if that’s not their “norm.” In case anyone missed it, women can do it all! As for her snapping after his remark, that’s a moment I felt like they were doing too much with the “misunderstood” trope. They had formed a decent connection before she found out he was a Miller Boy, so it didn’t make that much sense that she’d go off on him like that at that moment.
In addition, after Beau left, he never messaged her as his other persona, leaving Charlie stood up in the restaurant! That was absolutely crazy. Humiliating, even. But, all’s well that ends well, as being stood up doesn’t stop their online identities from resolving their issues, ultimately meeting in person and finding happiness together.
Overall, I’d give Maintenance Required a solid 7/10. I fear that if I think about it too much, it’ll drop down to 6/10. Don’t just take my word for it! You can stream Maintenance Required on Prime Video now, and see how you really feel.