She'll write, she'll waitress, she'll moan into a phone—anything for that Swedish steel.
101 Ways (the things a girl will do to keep her Volvo) chronicles the epic adventures of Watson (Wendy Hoopes), a struggling young writer who moves to the quiet suburbs to write her first novel. A New York City native, Watson isn't much of a driver, and her over-protective mother forces her to buy a car she can't afford - a brand new Volvo. Watson falls in love with the car, but real life quickly catches up to her in the form of the repo man when she falls behind on her monthly payments. To avoid losing her beloved wheels, Watson tries her hand at two of the oldest professions: waiting tables and phone sex. At the same time, her meddling best friend (Jamie Harrold), convinces Watson to ignite her stagnant love life by pursuing a sexually-phobic pilot (Gabriel Macht) and an aloof supermarket cashier (Glenn Fitzgerald). The result is a refreshing comedy packed with star cast performances and an overriding moral: life's long and winding road has as many speed bumps as straightaways.
Acting
Wendy Hoopes carries every manic scheme with desperate, endearing specificity.
Writing
Sharp dialogue that treats sex work and novel-writing as equally humiliating gigs.
Direction
Katz finds visual comedy in suburban banality without mocking her protagonist.
Director
Jennifer B. Katz
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Wendy Hoopes voiced multiple characters on MTV's 'Daria'—her deadpan delivery here is pure Jane Lane energy.
This barely-released indie captures the pre-recession 2000s obsession with 'aspirational' debt—Watson's Volvo is basically a mortgage on wheels.
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