i really hate my job - the blog

‘Every day is another day closer to the day I’ll never have to do this again.’

I Really Hate My Job sizzles its way through one steamy night and the lives of five feisty waitresses, stuck in a second rate London restaurant with delusions of grandeur. Customers come and go, blithely unaware of the real concerns of these women; a rat or two in the kitchen, bitter arguments about life and art, as well as a coup d’état in the kitchen…all overshadowed by the anticipation of a booking by a famous Hollywood movie star.

It is a summer evening in London. Alice (Shirley Henderson), a 30ish aspiring writer, is running late for her job as a kitchen hand in a Soho café, the Stella Bar. Once she arrives, Alice discovers that the chef is drunk and incapable of working, and so, for a bonus, she agrees to be chef for the evening. The action of the film takes place over this one evening as Alice’s story intertwines with that of the waitresses – aspiring 30 year-old actor, Abi (Neve Campbell), 24 year old art student, Suzie (Alexandra Maria Lara) – and the 28 year old Maitre D’, Madonna (Anna Maxwell Martin), and 48 year old dishwasher, Rita (Oana Pellea). Over the course of the evening, chaos gradually ensues thanks to rat infestations, arguments about music, art, love and desire, the arrival of a Hollywood movie star, Danny Huston (playing himself), and burnt food. In the meantime, we learn about the loves, loathings and aspirations of this group of women – who also learn surprising things about each other and themselves as the evening progresses.

A FILM BY OLIVER PARKER

STARRING:

Neve Campbell, Shirley Henderson, Alexandra Maria Lara, Anna Maxwell Martin, Oana Pellea and Danny Huston

Writer: Jennifer Higgie

Producers: Andrew Higgie, Dominic Saville, Matthew Justice, Alan Greenspan

Director of Photography: Tony Miller

Editor: Mary Finlay

Production Designer: Charles Garrad

Casting Director: Alex Johson

Art Director: Ben Smith

Costume Designer: Louise St Jernsward

Hair and Make-Up Designer: Catherine Scoble

Music Supervisor: Hunter Davis

Line Producer: Tim Cole