R | 1h 45m | Drama, Comedy, Biography | 2026
The oft go-to “based on a true story” genre can be divided into one of two camps: cautionary tales and inspirational uplift. “Tow” is a bit of the former and a whole lot of the latter. It also qualifies as an underdog story, a subgenre overpopulated with every conceivable type of professional and amateur sport.
For Seattleite Amanda Ogle (Rose Byrne), the cautionary tales are addressed at the start of “Tow.” The first: If you can’t get a job in your desired profession (in her case, veterinary technician), you cut down on the frustration factor by doing something else. Number two: Don’t live in your car.
Amanda’s high opinion of herself and her talents far exceeds reality. She’s failed in life at every turn. The only thing giving her hope is a tenuous, phone-only relationship with her estranged daughter, Avery (Elsie Fisher), who is living in Utah.
On the day Amanda finally gets a job, her car is stolen during the interview. The vehicle is abandoned and then towed. If she wants it back, she’ll have to pay a $273 fee. This isn’t fair (as life often is), but it’s the law, and Amanda simply doesn’t have the required funds.
Bottoming Out
With no car (and thus no home), Amanda secures a cot in a women’s homeless shelter in a church basement. It’s run by Barb (Octavia Spencer), a no-nonsense type who will not tolerate infighting, the breaking of curfews, or drinking. The feisty, perpetually late, and more-than-borderline alcoholic Amanda soon breaks all of the rules yet talks her way out of hot water, at least for the time being.
It’s 20 minutes into the movie and Amanda has given the audience little to no reason to root for her. Her low station in life isn’t because of bad luck. It’s as much of her own making and her obstinate posturing on the most trivial of matters and tiniest details. She is the pure definition of a textbook “Karen.”
It is because of Byrne’s formidable acting skills that we find Amanda to be simultaneously petty, hot-headed, and short-sighted while also lovable, endearing, and empathetic. It’s a delicate balancing act and akin to what Byrne similarly pulled off in the 2011 “Bridesmaids” and in her Golden Globe-winning performance in last year’s “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.”
At the start of the second act, through Byrne’s sneaky heavy-lifting, Amanda wins us over and gets us to completely back her cause.
The Fix Is In
After blowing off the offers of gratis legal assistance from upstart attorney Kevin (Dominic Sessa), Amanda finally agrees with his idea to take the towing company to court in order to retrieve her car. The lawyer representing the tow company (an appropriately slimy Corbin Bernsen as Martin) doesn’t even show up at the trial. Why should he? The tow company sold Amanda’s car for $175 and he considers the case closed.
The kicker: The tow company and the purchaser of the car have the same corporate owner occupying the same physical space.
This is where the movie shifts into decidedly “David vs. Goliath” territory. Days pass into weeks, which pass into months, and then into over a year without closure of any sort.
What began as a minor, pesky test of wills slowly escalates into a prime example of how the U.S. legal system favors those who can endlessly employ stall-and-delay tactics against plaintiffs who can’t afford legal representation, much less basic housing.
Shakespeare and the Eagles
By the start of the third act, my blood was boiling. It reminded me of a line from Shakespeare’s play “Henry VI, Part II”: “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.”
It has been cited that this quote led to the composing of the 1994 Eagles song “Get Over It,” which included the lyric “Old Billy was right: Let’s kill all the lawyers/ kill ’em tonight.” I believe that Shakespeare and the Eagles were thinking more about guys like Martin, and less like sincere, underdog, do-gooder types such as Kevin.
After viewing the screener for the movie, I did some research. From what I gathered, screenwriters Jonathan Keasey and Brant Boivin didn’t stray far from the events described in local Seattle news reports of the case.
Longtime TV director Stephanie Laing deserves high marks for taking what could have turned into a rote and predictable, sappy, made-for-TV movie of the week into a fully deserving, moving theatrical feature.
If you decide to watch the movie, stick around for the end credits. They feature the real-life Amanda, Avery, and Kevin—all of them beaming, smiling, and thriving.
The film opens in theaters on March 20.
‘Tow’
Director: Stephanie Laing
Stars: Rose Byrne, Octavia Spencer, Dominic Sessa, Corbin Bernsen
Running Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Release Date: March 20, 2026
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
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