Tow
Six months sober, Amanda Ogle (Rose Byrne) is clawing her way out of a hole after just having gotten a job as a vet tech, but her life will be upended for a full year because of a "Tow."
Laura's Review: C+
Considering how many members of the cast are listed as executive producers, director Stephanie Laing's (TV's 'Physical,' 'Palm Royale') feature debut about a Seattle vehicular resident who fights the system to get her car back fee free after it is stolen appears to be a labor of love, but Jonathan Keasey & Brant Boivin's ripped-from-the-headlines screenplay bogs down its pacing with too many details which don't matter much in the overall scheme of things. Fresh off her Oscar nominated turn in "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You," Rose Byrne roughs herself up aurally with lisped, slurred speech, but her appearance is just a little too glamorous for someone living on the streets. Still, "Tow" is equally inspirational in relating Amanda's perseverance in working the system and demoralizing in relating just how unjust that system can be.
Amanda, who lives in her blue 1991 Toyota Camry, is trying to get enough cash together to visit her teenaged daughter Avery (Elsie Fisher, "Eighth Grade"), an aspiring costume designer who lives with Amanda's ex. We can see the connection between mother and daughter, Amanda favoring updos wrapped in a bright pink scarf, the same color as Avery's hair. But when Amanda finally secures a job with a pet photography shop, she returns to where she parked to find no car, a requirement of the position, and even though the police recover it abandoned after a joy ride, when she arrives at Kaplan Towing to pick it up, clerk Cliff (Simon Rex, "Red Rocket") informs her she owes them over $273 for towing and storage fees. After bouncing around local government bureaucracy, she learns that she can sue them. Ignoring the offer of help from young lawyer Kevin (Dominic Sessa, "The Holdovers"), Amanda acts as her own - and wins - but when she returns to Kaplan she's informed her car has been sold.
Of course, Dominic Sessa wasn't hired for one scene in a hallway, so of course he comes back into play, mostly as a foil to the ridiculous machinations of Kaplan's venal lawyer Martin LaRosa (Corbin Bernsen, TV's 'L.A. Law,' "The Dentist"). In addition to Amanda's long, drawn out legal adventure, she has to navigate an AA relapse and homeless shelters, where she will face the strict rules of shelter manager Barbara (Octavia Spencer, "Hidden Figures"), clash with addict Denise (Ariana DeBose, 2021's "West Side Story") and offer support to the expecting Nova (singer Demi Lovato, who performs a lovely rendition of 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas'). And Avery has stopped taking Amanda's calls because in failing to tell the truth about her circumstances, her made up excuses have worn thing. Amanda makes frequent trips to Kaplan's and talks to the sympathetic Cliff, who begins bringing a dog to work, setting up expectations for Amanda's vet tech license to come into play which are never realized.
Byrne projects a tough cookie fighting incredible odds, a battle that went on for over a year, Kaplan's bill running into the thousands of dollars. The film is well intentioned and works in fits and starts, but Laing allows it to veer off course with too many subplots and the film's closure featuring the real Amanda and Avery sitting on a bench overlooking the Seattle skyline accentuates just how glammed up Amanda's portrayal is.
Robin's Review: B-
Amanda Ogle (Rose Byrne) is a homeless woman down on her luck and living in her 1991 Toyota. While interviewing for a job, her precious auto is stolen and, later, towed. To get her car back, she is presented with a bill for hundreds of dollars. When she cannot pay, it begins to add up and up and up in “Tow.”
Director Stephanie Laing and her star Rose Byrne create a character study of a woman at the end of her rope. Amanda is homeless, unemployed and estranged from her teen daughter Avery (Elsie Fisher), who thinks her mom is on top of the world. This bleak and troubled life sinks deeper when her car is stolen.
What starts out as a heisted car spirals out of control when she is presented with the first tow/storage bill which she cannot pay. And, each day she fails to pay increases the penalty. The time drags on from a few days to weeks to months with the toll ticking up to the tens of thousands of dollars.
A young, non-profit lawyer, Kevin (Dominic Sessa), offers to help Amanda pro bono but her first question for the rookie attorney is: “How old are you?” When he answers “twenty-four” she just dismisses him as a kid. But, when the bill hits over $18000, she puts her objection aside and asks for his help.
They take the case to court and, miracle of miracles, the judge decides in her favor! Unfortunately, the tow company’s lawyer, a shark-like pro, stymies Kevin’s every effort to get justice for Amanda. They prevail but….This is just one of Amanda’s woes.
As mentioned, Amanda is homeless and without the shelter of her car. She is forced to seek a place to sleep wherever she can, even on a park bench. She shows up on the doorstep of a woman’s shelter but soon learns, from manager Barbara (Octavia Spencer), the place is full. Barbara, sensing Amanda’s desperation makes room at the inn – but she has to follow the rules, including no booze or drugs. It is a clean, safe place so she agrees immediately. This is another thread to the woman’s story.
Then, there is Avery and Amanda, who she assured that all is OK and is forced to maintain the lie as her life spirals even more out of control. Oh yeah, there is also her problems finding and keeping a job, exacerbated by the theft and the tow.
One could say that this is a one woman show that Byrne commands, front and center. But, the depth of character of those around her makes this more than the world against one woman The kindness of strangers comes through with Kevin, Barbara, the women in the shelter and a helpful tow company employee and all help enrich the background characters.
Director Laing does a solid job in telling the woman’s story (written by Jonathan Keasey and Brant Boivin), giving it an honest look at what can happen to person struggling to make a life and a living in the wealthiest, most powerful country the world has ever know – for those at the top. For those at the bottom – and there are a lot more of them – life is a struggle that should not be. Whatever happened to a government “of the people, by the people and for the people”? Good question.
Roadside Attractions releases "Tow" in theaters on 3/20/26.
