Workplace comedy serves up sly insights

Most of the action in “Support the Girls” takes place in a Hooters-like restaurant, but don’t let the short shorts and skimpy tops fool you: This is a clever comedy about working-class women, and a sly, entertaining commentary on the insidious effects of gender inequality.

Lisa (Regina Hall, in a bravura performance) is the mother hen of a group of young women who toil at Double Whammies, a Texas sports bar with a menu that’s sure to keep cardiologists in business. All the women face emotional and financial problems, and it’s all Lisa can do to keep things together, not only for her employees but also for herself.

In one of many amusing sequences, Lisa and her perky assistant, Maci (Haley Lu Richardson, hilarious), train the fresh troops on the importance of avoiding drama, and Lisa emphasizes that Double Whammies is a family establishment, even if the help is wearing next to nothing.

In just one day’s work, Lisa faces a collapsing marriage, a break-in at the restaurant, an employee in legal trouble and an insufferable owner named Cubby (James Le Gros, very good), who keeps bugging her about making sure there is only one African American waitress per shift. When Lisa and Cubby argue with each other in his car, it is laughout-loud funny, even as we feel some of the sadness — and rage — underneath it all.

Director Andrew Bujalski (“Funny Ha Ha”) never condescends to any of the characters and doesn’t dream up happy endings for them. The women are in on the cruel joke that the deck is stacked against them, and, for better or worse, they will cope with life, even if they’re stuck with crappy job prospects.