'Maintenance Required' puts a fresh spin on 'You've Got Mail' and an emphasis on girl power
Fans of "You've Got Mail" now have a new take on the classic story.
Amazon MGM Studios released the new rom-com "Maintenance Required" on Oct. 8, and it has all the elements of the iconic film: an enemies-to-lovers story, a blossoming anonymous online connection and grand romantic gestures.
But that's not all.
At its heart, the new debut film by Lacey Uhlemeyer is about female empowerment: The women in the film play the roles of female mechanics.
"I loved the idea of playing a female mechanic," star Madelaine Petsch told "Good Morning America." "There's probably loads of them in the world, and we never see that onscreen."
The "Riverdale" alum plays Charlie in the film and also served as an executive producer.
The film follows Charlie, a mechanic who owns an all-female auto shop, according to a synopsis. When a flashy corporate competitor moves in across the street, Charlie is forced to reevaluate her future.
In the film, audiences see Petsch in the driver's seat, changing tires and getting her hands dirty as she works under the hood.
The actress said a mechanic trained her prior to the film and added that it was an "empowering thing as a woman to learn how to fix your car."
"I was able to do everything that we did in the film for real," she said. "So I can do all of those things now, which is really cool and I feel very empowered from that."
Madison Bailey, who plays Charlie's friend Izzy, said, "It's just nice to be playing characters in a woman-owned business and just being unapologetically feminine about it too."
"It's also fun," added Katy O'Brian, who plays Charlie's friend Kam in the film. "These jobs do exist, you can do them, and I don't know why we always have to see guys doing it."
Uhlemeyer said the idea of an all-female body shop was inspired by Girls Auto Clinic, a real life all-female, female-owned auto shop in Philadelphia, which also has a salon like the auto shop in the film does.
The filmmaker said that the women at the Philadelphia-based auto shop were "committed to breaking into this space that was largely controlled by men."
"I just thought that was such a strong female voice," Uhlemeyer said. "It just really inspired me. I thought, 'How can I give new life to that in a way that a lot of people could watch?' It fell into this rom-com formula, which I really love."
In the film, Charlie meets Beau (Jacob Scipio), whose car repair company opens a location across the street from her auto shop. The duo start off as enemies, but what Charlie doesn't know is that Beau is also the person she's built an online connection with after meeting in an online car forum.
Scipio told "GMA" that the film speaks to the current dating scene, saying it often feels difficult to meet people offline.
"It's just so accessible to meet somebody online," he said. "I think we just try to represent that a little bit in our movie, about stepping behind that screen and showing yourself fully to a person, being vulnerable, taking care of them, being kind."
Matteo Lane, who plays Beau's friend Jordan, added, "I think that's the thing with dating today, is that there are just so many options, and there are so many apps, and then there are so many people."
"It's just nice to see that the love interest, you know, they had a relationship beforehand, they found interest before they met each other," he continued. "I wish it was like that with everyone."
"Maintenance Required" is available to stream now on Amazon Prime.
