Current:Home > My'Drive-Away Dolls' review: Talented cast steers a crime comedy with sex toys and absurdity-LoTradeCoin
'Drive-Away Dolls' review: Talented cast steers a crime comedy with sex toys and absurdity
View Date:2024-12-24 00:51:14
From dopey villains to a wall-mounted sex toy, “Drive-Away Dolls” often plays like a signature Coen brothers movie – even with just one of the fabulous filmmaking siblings.
Directed by Ethan Coen, and co-written with his wife Tricia Cooke, the crime comedy (★★★ out of four; rated R; in theaters Friday) throws back to Russ Meyer and John Waters B-movies as well as 1960s psychedelia, yet with contemporary sensibilities courtesy of two extremely charming leads. Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan co-star as lesbian pals on a noir-spattered road trip that takes a bit to kick into gear but, man, totally grooves when it does.
Set in 1999, with Y2K and an election cycle on the horizon, the gonzo narrative centers on a pair of Philadelphia women who need a change of pace. When she’s caught cheating, mercurial wild child Jamie (Qualley) gets thrown out by her cop girlfriend Sukie (Beanie Feldstein). So Jamie invites herself along when her friend, the extremely strait-laced Marian (Viswanathan), is so unhappy with her office gig and nonexistent love life that she plans a trip to Tallahassee, Florida, to do some birding with her aunt.
The pair sign up for a one-way rental to deliver a Dodge Aries down South. But they’re given a vehicle earmarked by a smooth crime boss, the Chief (Colman Domingo), with an important briefcase in the trunk. Jamie and Marian take off on a series of misadventures, including a make-out session with a women’s soccer team as part of Jamie’s various attempts to get Marian laid, with the Chief’s goons (Joey Slotnick and C.J. Wilson) in hot pursuit.
Even at a crisp 84 minutes, “Dolls” meanders at the start with multiple plotlines, though the core actresses’ chemistry keeps you invested as their characters develop via odd-couple bickering. Qualley utilizes a Southern twang (similar to mom Andie MacDowell’s) to give her Texan role a saucy persona, while Viswanathan deftly plays the straight woman, as it were, with uptight Marian choosing to read a Henry James novel over hooking up with randos at a gay bar. Like Domingo, Viswanathan makes everything she’s in better, and it’s criminal that she’s not a huge star by now. That said, the fun turn here should help her case.
Margaret Qualley is married!Actress weds Jack Antonoff in star-studded ceremony on Long Beach Island
While a series of acid-trippy transitions (featuring Miley Cyrus, no less) don’t make a lot of sense at first, they end up paying off once Jamie and Marian find and open the briefcase. (We’re not spilling but its contents do wonders for story momentum.)
Since the Coens’ last joint effort, the 2018 Western anthology “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” each brother has gone his own way. Joel Coen went the Shakespeare route with “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” yet Ethan Coen’s “Dolls” feels more of a kind with the genre-mashing likes of “Raising Arizona,” “Blood Simple” and “The Ladykillers.” Also akin to those, the new film boasts a colorful supporting cast: Feldstein is a feisty wonder as Jamie’s ex, while cameo king Matt Damon nicely inhabits a shady conservative senator.
The women in Coen brothers’ movies are usually the much smarter gender, as it is with “Dolls,” where Joel Coen and Cooke’s script creates a tight-knit relationship between its heroines that’s an absolute delight to watch, surrounded by goofball personalities and a healthy amount of campiness. It’s a playfully madcap turn on the “Thelma & Louise” model, and if Jamie and Marian decided to drive off a cliff, you’d want to be in that Dodge with them.
'Isn't it crazy?'Colman Domingo talks 'Rustin' Oscar nod and being an awards style icon
veryGood! (4254)
Related
- Could trad wives, influencers have sparked the red wave among female voters?
- Ruling keeps abortion question on ballot in South Dakota
- Where is British Open? What to know about Royal Troon Golf Club
- 'Let me get my shoes': Trump explains why he asked for footwear after assassination attempt
- 'I know how to do math': New Red Lobster CEO says endless shrimp deal is not coming back
- Richard Simmons’ Cause of Death Under Investigation
- James Webb telescope photos show the Penguin and Egg galaxies in greater detail
- Man charged with murdering 2 roommates after body parts found in suitcases on iconic U.K. bridge
- Joan says 'Yes!' to 'Golden Bachelorette' finale fantasy beach proposal. Who did she pick?
- Details emerge about deaths of dad and daughter from Wisconsin and 3rd hiker who died in Utah park
Ranking
- Get Your Home Holiday-Ready & Decluttered With These Storage Solutions Starting at $14
- Prime Day 2024: Save On These 41 Beauty Products Rarely Go on Sale- Tatcha, Color Wow, Laneige & More
- Video shows woman's scarily close encounter with grizzly. She says she'd still 'choose the bear.'
- Hamas says Gaza cease-fire talks haven't paused and claims military chief survived Israeli strike
- The Best Gifts for Men – That He Won’t Want to Return
- Where is British Open? What to know about Royal Troon Golf Club
- Dodgers’ Hernández beats Royals’ Witt for HR Derby title, Alonso’s bid for 3rd win ends in 1st round
- Amazon's Prime Day Deals on Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks for $24, Fire Tablets for $74 & More
Recommendation
-
Denver district attorney is investigating the leak of voting passwords in Colorado
-
Stock market today: Asian stocks are mixed after Dow sets a new record
-
Want to retire but can't afford it? This strategy could be right for you.
-
Soros’ Open Society Foundations say their restructuring is complete and pledge $400M for green jobs
-
Anti-abortion advocates press Trump for more restrictions as abortion pill sales spike
-
Gareth Southgate resigns as England manager after Euro 2024 final loss
-
Creature that washed up on New Zealand beach may be world's rarest whale — a spade-toothed whale
-
2024 RNC Day 1 fact check of the Republican National Convention