Drive-Away Dolls

<<

Now Playing

>>

This was one of those titles this year that sort of hovered in existence amid other titles that might put butts in seats. Admittedly, the advertising for this one wasn't entirely effective, and I was only really drawn in by Ethan Coen's name behind the film along with the stylistic look of it. The thing is, the trailer is altogether pretty misleading, offering up a fun road-trip looking 'Thelma & Louise' style adventure with a few solid names attached to it. The reality is that this is more of a story about two contrasting lesbian characters than anything else.

To be perfectly clear, I don't have a problem with what the film turned out to be, it's just that it didn't turn out to be what I expected. It should also be noted that the other big names we see in the trailer like Matt Damon and Pedro Pascal are barely a part of things, and show up just to say "look who's here!" And while the film isn't without a bit of casually dark humour as Ethan Coen is known for, in order to enjoy this one to any degree, one will have to let go of some of the greater expectations they have from the name. In other words, this could be considered another 'Burn After Reading' for some.

Taking place in 1999, Philadelphia, we meet Jamie (Margaret Qualley), a lady living her life in the fast lane, cheating enough on her lover, Sukie (Beanie Feldstein) that it leads her to getting kicked out of their apartment. While she's figuring out what to do about her situation, she learns that her friend, Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan) is planning to head out to Tallahassee, FL to visit family, so she requests to come along for the road trip. To do so, they go to a drive-away car service in which someone drives a car from one place to another for another client.

The pair ask about a car destined to Tallahassee, which confuses the shop owner, Curlie (Bill Camp) a bit, but he shrugs it off and gives the girls the keys. It turns out his confusion was warranted, however, as someone else had already booked a car for Tallahassee; three criminals, Arliss (Joey Slotnick), Flint (C.J. Wilson) and Chief (Colman Domingo), who seemingly leads the team. Here, we find out that Jamie and Marian are, by no fault of their own, carrying something very sensitive in a mysterious briefcase. From there, Arliss and Flint begin the chase, questioning everyone the "Dolls" have been in contact with along the way.

That's pretty much the plot, and it doesn't sound as misleading as I might have mentioned, but that plot does take a back seat to the other story here. What the film is really about is two friends; Jamie, who's wild and free, and Marian, who's far more conservative and a bit uptight, and Jamie trying to get Marian to loosen up and enjoy life more. All the while the pair share some sexual tension within their friendship as well, so things do indeed get a bit spicy with this one as one, again, might not take away from the trailer.

I think the worst thing about this one is that before seeing the movie, I joked about what the precious contents of the briefcase might be, and it turned out I actually called it. Despite having a good laugh about accidentally calling it with a joke, that's also the problem - It really was a joke, and to some degree, that makes things kind of disappointing. Between that, a total tease of star power and things being pretty misleading, I definitely have my criticisms. I don't have any hate towards it, really, but I have to say I was disappointed on the whole, and when it comes to the Coen name, there are much better titles out there.

To put it another way, I could see this getting something of a cult following over time, considering its overall subject matter, and the fact that it was a box office flop, so not a whole hell of a lot of people went to check it out upon its release. I didn't hate it, I didn't love it, it's misleading and pretty silly overall, but it's also not really without its moments. I think as long as one can go in with their minds open and know that this is more of a movie about a lesbian relationship than anything else it can be a decent time. But again, not the top of the Coen list of great movies.

3/5

---