Ethan Coen goes solo yet again but this time it’s for Drive-Away Dolls, a comic caper that takes audiences on a spontaneous road trip.
Coen’s last outing as a director was with Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind. A24 quietly released the documentary at the start of the year, which the filmmaker did not collaborate with brother Joel Coen. As of press time, it is currently included on Prime Video. Anyway, Drive-Away Dolls sees Coen’s pleasant return to the world of comic narrative features and it isn’t a moment too soon.
The film takes place in December 1999. Setting the film in 2023 or even 2024 would not be realistic especially with the anti-LGBTQ laws that the Florida legislature keeps passing. Trust me, there’s a reason why there is a travel warning advising against going to Florida. I have a lot more that I would like to say about this but please let me get back to discussing the film. Anyway, the 1999 setting takes away inventions like smartphones and Google Maps. You know, the very things that would make a 2023 setting not very realistic.
Jamie (Margaret Qualley) and Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan) could not be more different. The only thing it seems that they have in common are being lesbians. Let me state right now that they are not in a relationship with each other. Anyway, Jamie is suffering from a breakup with her girlfriend, Sukie (Beanie Feldstein), and decides to go to Tallahassee. Marian joins her as they head to a drive-away car agency. What owner Curlie (Bill Camp) didn’t realize is that this car in particular wasn’t their car to take. It’s exactly the kind of subplot that one expects in a Coen Brothers movie because criminals start chasing after them. They don’t do a good job and it just ups the laughter. That this happens in a film written by Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke isn’t really surprising.
I’m not going to get into specific spoilers regarding Pedro Pascal or Matt Damon. What Coen and Cooke do with their characters is certainly something that you must see for yourself. Right when you think a Coen brother will not outdo themselves, they find a way to do it again. It’s just too funny. Speaking of casting, Beanie Feldstein puts on a superb job as usual. In addition to her character breaking up with Jamie, she is also a cop. Together with Jamie and Marian, the trio shows themselves to be superior to the Goons (Joey Slotnick, CJ Wilson) in every way.
Cooke’s history with the Coens dates back to Miller’s Crossing. She mostly worked as an editor on the Coen films together with the brothers. Her involvement with this film is different as she’s a part of the screenwriting team, too. You can’t help but think about how much her voice helps improve the film. If Cooke had her way, the film would be titled Drive-Away Dykes. Something tells me that a number of theaters would not play the film if this were the case. Most of those theaters being in the south and rural communities, of course.
If you’re a fan of the 1960s and 1970s B-movies, Drive-Away Dolls will be right up your alley. If you don’t like LGBTQ people, your homophobic tuchas will not be welcome.
DIRECTOR: Ethan Coen
SCREENWRITERS: Ethan Coen & Tricia Cooke
CAST: Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan, Beanie Feldstein, Colman Domingo, Pedro Pascal, Bill Camp, and Matt Damon
Focus Features will release Drive-Away Dolls in theaters on February 23, 2024. Grade: 4.5/5
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