Maintenance Required Review: Even With Madelaine Petsch and Jacob Scipio’s Charming Performances, This Rom-Com Seriously Needs an Overhaul

Maintenance Required took a cue from the You’ve Got Mail-like template, transporting the late 1990s era of two strangers falling for each other anonymously online, but didn’t realise they are competitors in the book business to today’s generation. But instead of books, the movie revolves around Charlie (Madelaine Petsch) and Beau (Jacob Scipio), who share the same passion for cars. They regularly text each other but never reveal their true identities or send pictures of how they look like, other than favourite car photos.

Charlie owns an all-female repair shop in a small town somewhere in Oakland, with her best friend Kam (Katy O’Brian) working as a mechanic while Izzy (Madison Bailey) occupies part of the shop to run a nail salon. Everything’s fine at first, except that Charlie has been spending too much time repairing cars but neglecting her social life, namely getting a boyfriend.

Soon, they find out about an auto repair shop from a big corporation that has newly opened in their vicinity, threatening to bring down small-time businesses like Charlie’s. The person in charge of Charlie’s rival turns out to be Beau, who is enlisted by his boss as a closer. So, it doesn’t take long before Beau tries to make his move on her with all the usual flirting and stuff.

And for a while there, there’s a glimmer of spark within Petsch and Scipio’s on-screen chemistry — first at Charlie’s repair shop and later, in a bar where the two are betting on each other during a snooker game. Lacey Uhlemeyer, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Erin Falconer and Roo Berry, doesn’t offer anything new to the familiar material. It is as clichéd as it goes for a rom-com, complete with A to Z storytelling beats, such as Charlie eventually finding out about Beau being the rival to her business. Then comes the inevitable love-hate relationship, and this is where Uhlemeyer could use this opportunity to raise the stakes.

But as the movie progresses, the story just lies there flat in the open without trying to spice things up. Petsch and Scipio could have been great together since the initial chemistry is already there. And yet, the flimsy story ultimately does them a disservice, proving there’s only so much they can do with their respective charms. Uhlemeyer does throw in some conflicts along the way, but then again, nothing really matters since it just drags along on autopilot mode, making the 103-minute length feel like a tedious slog struggling to reach its destination.

The supporting cast, in the meantime, covering from Katy O’Brian to Madison Bailey and Jim Gaffigan, where the latter plays Beau’s boss, deliver adequate support, even though their roles can’t do much to elevate the movie from mediocrity. It’s a pity that Maintenance Required misses the mark by a large margin, equivalent to a broken car which seriously needs a complete overhaul and not just minor fixes here and there.

Personally, I don’t mind if a director made a rom-com that sticks closely to the formula, as long as the movie justifies its existence with an above-average cast and an otherwise familiar story that still has the narrative hook to keep one invested. Too bad this isn’t the movie, particularly wasting Petsch and Scipio, who deserve better, even though the former is seen credited as an executive producer.

By the time the disappointingly underwhelming third act arrives with a you-know-what-to-expect ending, I’ve already lost interest in the movie. And ironically, this is the second time that Petsch’s performance is undermined after the dismal Strangers: Chapter 2.

Maintenance Required is currently streaming on Prime Video.