The Coen Brothers parted ways after 2018's "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs," which came out on Netflix. The multi Oscar-winning duo decided to work on their own projects; Joel made "The Tragedy of Macbeth" in 2021, and now Ethan has released his new film "Drive-Away Dolls."
This lesbian comedy crime road trip was written by Ethan and his wife Tricia Cooke, and it stars Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan, Bernie Feldstein, Colman Domingo, Pedro Pascal, Bill Camp and Matt Damon.
What it's about
It's 1999 and Jamie (Margaret Qualley) has given up on love. Having fumbled her latest relationship with yet another girlfriend (Beanie Feldstein), the thrill-seeking wild child is ready for change — luckily for her, her uptight best friend Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan) is about to go visit her aunt in Tallahassee. Jamie sees this as a perfect endeavor on which to invite herself along, while the bookish Marian reluctantly obliges.
But, thanks to a mix-up at the hands of the local drive-away dealership owner, Jamie and Marian end up traversing down the east coast in a vehicle originally intended for — of course — a crew of incompetent criminals, and in the Volvo's trunk is a severed head and a steel suitcase. What's inside that suitcase leads our two protagonists down a journey of self-discovery that winds up at the brink of a public scandal. Though it's the first narrative feature film that Ethan Coen has made without his usual creative partner, it still has the sort of darkly cheeky, crime-ridden storyline you'd expect from the Brothers Coen.
It looks and feels quite different than a typical Coen Bros. film — despite the surface similarities
This gives Coen room to play with the camera in more formally abrasive ways than one might expect, pushing his cast to match the silliness of a canted angle shot from the pedal of the getaway car with rubbery expressions of shock and dismay, particularly from the nimbly expressive Qualley. Gloss is juxtaposed with vociferous stylishness, and as the camera whips around Jamie and Marian's topsy-turvy world, "Drive-Away Dolls" luxuriates in a style that suggests a cartoon penned by Dorothy L. Sayers. The anxieties that permeate less stylistically and tonally adventurous works of this ilk are undermined by a waggish sense of humor and fun, even as the political uncertainty that undergirds so much noir, as well as the sense of the ambivalent self that's the theme of so many road movies, attempts to blow these girls' tires out.
[Slant]
"Drive-Away Dolls" is 84 minutes long, and it's styled to be an easy-to-watch caper, but it's most definitely a trifle. Ethan Coen shows a command of the nuts and bolts of indie escapist moviemaking, but given how long he's been at this he doesn't work with an abundance of style. One always sensed that it was Joel who was the visual wizard, and that Ethan was the common-sense yin to Joel's flamboyant yang.
[Variety]
Get ready to learn how to pronounce and spell Geraldine Viswanathan's name properly, she's a star
Yet "Drive-Away Dolls" primarily focuses on Qualley and Viswanathan, and they're doing their best with a script struggling to do justice to their characters. Qualley is going a mile a minute, yet her character works best in the quieter moments, whether when she's being romantic, or taking charge of a situation. Qualley plays Jamie like she's mainlined every Coen brothers comedy to prepare, and she works best when she leans away from that instinct. This is what makes Viswanathan the best part of "Drive-Away Dolls," as Marian is happiest when left alone with her thoughts, content with reading a book alone in her hotel rather than partying and making out with a sports team full of lesbians in a basement — where Jamie would thrive. More than anyone else, Marian is a fully realized character who we watch shift into finding what she wants in life and becoming more comfortable with herself. It's also just wonderful to watch Viswanathan in a role that showcases her talents, after strong work in "Miracle Workers" and the indie comedy "7 Days."
[Collider]
Jamie is introduced eyebrows deep in a busty woman's crotch, pausing mid-cunnilingus to field a phone call from Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan, the Indian-Australian 28-year-old with breakout roles in "Blockers" and "Bad Education.") Marian says she needs to "get away," and wants to visit her aunt in Tallahassee. Jamie wants to tag along and suggests a "drive away" — a business model that lets you have a free road trip in exchange for helping someone transport a car. Marian agrees to meet Jamie at the local lesbian bar, where Jamie is hosting a body-shot competition that night, to discuss further.
[GQ]
It's raunchy, ridiculous, gay, violent and damn proud of it
"Drive-Away Dolls" features as many pussy jokes and stylish flashes of ultraviolence as it has kitschy scene transitions and Linda Ronstadt needle drops. Still, it rarely feels too stupid or too serious to enjoy at face value as a dumb, feel-good movie for dykes. A boundary-breaking storyteller in her own right, Cooke has graced "The Big Lebowski" and other so-called dude movies with her subtly sapphic touch for years. ("Do you like sex, Mr. Lebowski?") But here Cooke and Coen's lesbian audience is finally given a front bench seat to a bumpy ride through intrastate criminal scheming told explicitly via outrageous queer film that centers and celebrates women. It's a movie for lesbians who already love Coen brothers movies, and a perfect entry point for anyone (understandably!) curious about either of those things.
Coen's Looney Tunes editing — Clock wipes? In this economy? — and the aggressive needle-drop soundtrack enhance the punch-drunk atmosphere of it all, which, again, is great when the jokes land. When they don't, "Drive-Away Dolls" takes on a sweaty aura: Suddenly, Qualley's Texas accent is a desperate gambit to fill the airless space around her, and Viswanathan's squirming discomfort is a little too real. And there are a lot of jokes in the script, which means the opportunities to faceplant are plentiful as well. This movie is a rollercoaster ride, all right — one that's bumpy as well as exhilarating.
[IGN]
Thrillingly, "Drive-Away Dolls" is where the Coen Bros. aesthetic and queer cinema collide, even with only one bro. Teamed with Cooke, Ethan explores the pleasures to be found in a trashy B-movie plot. Unmoored by the pressure to be Oscar material or a big summer blockbuster, this creative team comes up with a comedy that brings fresh dazzle to the underserved subgenre of lesbian laffers.
[Mashable]
TL;DR
"Drive-Away Dolls" is not for everyone and will likely become a cult classic with a niche audience.
Marian and Jamie are an instantly indelible duo, a Butch and Sundance for the raging '20s.
I wish it were messier.
It's not a road to nowhere — it's better than that. But it's also not the joy ride it could have been.
Enlivened by some talented actors but way too pleased with itself for something so inconsequential.
