''Girlfriend's Day'' is a 2017 American

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film directed by Michael Paul Stephenson and written by

Bob Odenkirk Robert John Odenkirk (; born October 22, 1962) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker best known for his role as Saul Goodman on ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and its spin-off ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–2022). For the latter, he has re ...

Philip Zlotorynski Philip Scott Zlotorynski (born 1975) is an American filmmaker. Early career Zlotorynski graduated with honors from California State University, Northridge with a degree in film and television production in 1997. He spent two years as head of the ...

, and Eric Hoffman. The film stars Odenkirk and Amber Tamblyn and was released on Netflix on February 14, 2017.

Plot

Rival greeting card companies owned by members of the same family operate in a California city and Ray Wentworth works for one. Previously celebrated for the quality of his romance cards, Ray's divorce leaves him with depression and writer's block, and he is fired. California's governor declares a new holiday, Girlfriend's Day, which includes a contest to produce the best greeting card to commemorate it. Ray's former boss believes Ray can recapture his old magic and hires him

under the table Unreported employment, also known as money under the table, working under the table, off the books, cash-in-hand, or illicit work is illegal employment that is not reported to the government. The employer or the employee often does so for tax evas ...

to create a card good enough to win the contest. Ray then becomes involved in a tangle of deceit and murder as the rival companies fight to win the contest and the profits and prestige that will come with the victory.

Cast

as Ray Wentworth * Amber Tamblyn as Jill * Rich Sommer as Buddy * Toby Huss as Betcher * David Sullivan as Sonnyboy * Hannah Nordberg as Liz * June Diane Raphael as Karen Lamb * Stacy Keach as Gundy * Andy Richter as Harold Lamb * Larry Fessenden as Taft * Natasha Lyonne as Mrs. Taft * Alex Karpovsky as Styvesan *

Stephanie Courtney Stephanie Courtney (born February 8, 1970) is an American actress and comedian, best known for playing the advertising character Flo in television and radio commercials for Progressive Corporation beginning in 2008. Courtney is also noted fo ...

as Cathy Gile * Echo Kellum as Madsen *

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...

as Narrator

Production

On June 4, 2013, it was announced that

would write and star as Ray, a greeting cards writer, in the comedy-drama film ''Girlfriend's Day'', which would be directed by Michael Stephenson. Michael and Lindsay Stephenson would produce the film through their

Magic Stone Productions Magic Stone is a film and television production company directed by husband-and-wife team Michael Stephenson and Lindsay Stephenson. Overview Launched in 2009, Magic Stone is a production company whose films include Best Worst Movie and The Am ...

along with Odenkirk and Marc Provissiero through their Odenkirk Provissiero Entertainment. On September 17, 2013, Amber Tamblyn joined the film to play a fan of greeting card writers. On November 23, 2015, Netflix acquired global distribution rights for the film, which was also co-written by

and Eric Hoffman, and also produced by M. Elizabeth Hughes. Principal photography on the film began on November 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.

Release

The film was released worldwide on February 14, 2017.

Critical response

The film received mixed reviews from critics, where the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 43% with an average 5.5/10. On February 15, 2017 Paste Magazine gave the film an 8.0 rating (out of 10).

References

External links

* *
Bob Odenkirk’s ''Girlfriend’s Day'' is an Eerie, Bizarre Noir Comedy
by Paste Magazine February 15, 2017

by New York Magazine January 8, 2019 {{Bob Odenkirk 2017 films Films directed by Michael Stephenson American comedy-drama films 2017 comedy-drama films Films shot in Los Angeles Films set in California Holiday-themed films Films about writers English-language Netflix original films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films