Maintenance Required

Maintenance Required

Year: 2025

Language: english

Director: Lacey Uhlemeyer

Echo Score: 64
ComedyRomance

Charlie, compelled to reassess the future of her all‑female mechanic garage, begins confiding in an anonymous online friend named Beau. When she discovers that Beau is actually the owner of a competing shop and her real‑life business rival, their secret chats evolve into a surprising personal connection, forcing both to navigate a growing attraction amid fierce professional competition.

Warning: spoilers below!

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Timeline & Setting – Maintenance Required (2025)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Maintenance Required (2025). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Contemporary

The story unfolds in modern-day Oakland, blending online forums, televised interviews, and real-world car culture. It reflects present-day dynamics of small businesses facing aggressive corporate expansion and technological shifts like electric vehicles. The narrative moves through everyday life—work, shows, and social media—grounding the drama in a current era.

Location

Oakland

Oakland serves as the setting where Charlie inherits her father's auto shop and builds a tight-knit, all-female crew. The area hosts a thriving car culture and becomes the battleground for a looming corporate takeover by Miller Boys, right across the street from her shop. The neighborhood's spirit centers on practical skills, support, and a shared love of cars. The film portrays the shop as a community hub where people connect through work and passion.

🏙️ Urban 🛠️ Automotive hub 🚗 Community

Last Updated: December 04, 2025 at 15:23

Main Characters – Maintenance Required (2025)

Meet the key characters of Maintenance Required (2025), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Charlie (Madelaine Petsch)

Charlie is a skilled auto mechanic who inherited her father's shop in Oakland. She runs the business with an all-female crew and is deeply devoted to the community, fighting to keep her shop independent in the face of a corporate rival. Her online alias 'GreaseMnky' reveals a playful, car-loving ego that remains separate from her real-world persona, a tension she must navigate as trust is tested.

❄️ Resilient 🚗 Mechanic 👩🏻‍🔧 Community-minded

Beau (Jacob Scipio)

Beau is a charismatic manager for Miller Boys who hides his corporate role behind the online handle Bullnose. He is ambitious and charming, yet morally conflicted as he uses deception to press Charlie toward accepting corporate ideas. Over time he quits Miller Boys and searches for a more honest path, even as his feelings for Charlie complicate his choices.

💼 Ambitious 🕵️‍♂️ Deceptive 🚗 Car culture 💔 Romantic foil

Lola (Inanna Sarkis)

Lola is Beau's girlfriend who often seems disinterested, reflecting the strain Beau's double life places on their relationship. She embodies the personal costs of corporate competition and the choices people make when loyalties clash.

💬 Complex relationships 🗺️ Streetwise 🧭 Loyalty

Izzy (Madison Bailey)

Izzy is Charlie's supportive friend who helps keep the shop's spirit alive. She stands by Charlie as the industry pressures mount and provides practical and emotional encouragement.

🤝 Supportive 🧰 Car culture 🛠️ Community

Kam (Katy M. O'Brian)

Kam is a friend of Charlie who joins in the shop's community efforts and offers encouragement amid the corporate pressure. Her presence reinforces the theme of female solidarity in the face of competition.

👭 Supportive 🧭 Community builder 🛠️ Mechanic-in-training

Jordan (Matteo Lane)

Jordan is a collaborator who appears in the story as a connector to the broader car world, participating in the narrative through classic car culture and shop interactions.

🧩 Supporting 🚗 Enthusiast 🧰 Car culture

Mr. Miller (Jim Gaffigan)

Mr. Miller is the corporate head behind Miller Boys, fixated on expansion and market domination. He views Oakland as a valuable location to conquer and push into North America, representing the ruthless edge of tech-driven capitalism.

💼 Powerful 🧭 Strategic 🧱 Corporate

Last Updated: December 04, 2025 at 15:23

Major Themes – Maintenance Required (2025)

Explore the central themes of Maintenance Required (2025), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

💼 Capitalism vs Community

The film pits the expansion-driven mindset of Miller Boys against Charlie's community-first garage. Corporate pricing and scale threaten the livelihoods of a small, local shop. Charlie's fight embodies the struggle to keep a neighborhood space alive when profitability is prioritized. The tension pushes characters to choose between short-term gains and long-term community integrity.

🕵️ Identity & Deception

Beau's hidden authority at Miller Boys is concealed behind the online alias Bullnose, driving much of the plot. The deception strains trust between Charlie and Beau and complicates their budding romance. The reveal reframes motives and forces characters to confront what is real versus what is staged online. The consequences reshape their relationship and decisions.

💔 Love & Trust

Romantic tension arises from Beau's dual life, challenging Charlie to decide if love can survive betrayal. As truth emerges, their relationship moves from suspicion toward a cautious possibility of reconciliation. The arc uses romance to explore forgiveness, personal growth, and the resilience needed to rebuild trust. Ultimately, honesty becomes the foundation for a healthier partnership.

👩🏻‍🔧 Female Empowerment

Charlie leads an all-female crew, demonstrating technical prowess, resilience, and community leadership. The story centers women who run and defend their shop against a male-dominated corporate machine. Kam and Izzy bolster Charlie’s mission, highlighting solidarity and mentorship. The film celebrates craftsmanship and the power of women shaping their own futures.

Last Updated: December 04, 2025 at 15:23

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Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Professional Rivals Turned Lovers like in Maintenance Required

Where business competition sparks an unexpected and charming romance.If you enjoyed the blend of business rivalry and romance in 'Maintenance Required', you'll love these movies. They feature similar stories of characters falling for their professional competitors, offering a satisfying mix of witty banter, chemistry, and feel-good endings.

romanticwittycompetitiveheartwarmingcharmingfeel-gooduplifting

Narrative Summary

The narrative typically begins with two driven individuals on opposing sides of a professional conflict. Through forced interactions or a hidden connection (like a secret identity), they begin to see beyond the rivalry, discovering shared values and an undeniable spark. The central conflict revolves around reconciling their public competition with their private feelings, culminating in a resolution that often merges their professional and personal lives.

Why These Movies?

Movies in this thread are grouped by the core 'enemies to lovers' arc set in a professional context. They share a lighthearted, hopeful tone, moderate tension from the rivalry, and a steady pacing that allows the relationship to develop naturally amidst the workplace dynamics.

Sweet and Steady Romantic Comedies like Maintenance Required

Lighthearted stories of charming connections and feel-good endings.Fans of the lighthearted, hopeful vibe of 'Maintenance Required' will find more to love here. These movies are similar romantic comedies known for their sweet nature, steady pacing, and focus on emotional connection without heavy drama, perfect for a comforting watch.

lightheartedsweetfeel-goodupliftingcharmingoptimisticcomforting

Narrative Summary

These narratives follow a straightforward path toward romance, often built around a charming premise like a secret pen pal or a mistaken identity. The stakes are personal and emotional rather than life-altering, creating a comfortable viewing experience. The pacing is steady, allowing the relationship to develop believably, and the conflict, while meaningful, is resolved in a way that reinforces the hopeful, feel-good atmosphere.

Why These Movies?

This thread groups movies based on a shared vibe: a light emotional weight, a hopeful tone, steady pacing, and an unambiguously happy ending. They prioritize sweetness, charm, and a comforting sense of predictability that is central to the classic rom-com experience.

Unlock the Full Story of Maintenance Required

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Maintenance Required Summary

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Maintenance Required Summary

Maintenance Required Timeline

Track the full timeline of Maintenance Required with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

Maintenance Required Timeline

Maintenance Required Ending Explained

What really happened at the end of Maintenance Required? This detailed ending explained page breaks down final scenes, hidden clues, and alternate interpretations with expert analysis and viewer theories.

Maintenance Required Ending Explained

Maintenance Required Spoiler-Free Summary

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Maintenance Required Spoiler-Free Summary

More About Maintenance Required

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