Image courtesy of Focus Features
Fans of the Coen Brothers were naturally curious to see what each could do when the brothers announced they wouldn’t be making films together. Since then, Joel Coen made his masterful, noirish, and existential take on The Tragedy Macbethin 2021.This year, Ethan Coen co-wrote and directed Drive Away Dolls, a throwback screwball comedy about two lesbians caught up in caper that happens while on a roadtrip.
Though Dolls has some memorable moments, the laughs don’t add up to the expectations fans would have for the movie. The slapstick tone and campiness don’t always work, making this another example of one filmmaker on their own not being as good as when they’re paired with another.
There’s a list of tropes that one can expect to see in a Coen Brother’s movie; many of them are in Dolls. But here they feel more recycled. Margaret Qualley’s Jamie seems like a lesbian version of Nic Cage’s character in Raising Arizona, whose intelligence is hidden behind his Southern drawl. What seemed to work with this type of character 30 years ago comes across now as overwritten dialogue. Jamie seems to also be just some sort of manic, pixie, dream lesbian, swirling sex appeal, nihilism, and instability.
Other familiar character types from the Coen-verse are here, too. Beanie Feldstein plays loud, angry police officer Suki, who is Jamie’s ex and provides a lot of the comic relief. Colman Domingo, who’s underused here, plays some kind of mobster who is supposed to pick up a ‘drive away’ with his two, bickering thugs, Flint (C.J. Wilson) and Arliss (Joey Slotnick).
The plot really begins when Jamie and platonic, lesbian best friend Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan) decide to get away to Tallahassee by checking for ‘drive aways’, an antiquated service where people are hired to drive a car to a specific location. The friends get mistaken for the thugs and are given the car meant for Domingo’s character, simply called ‘The Chief’.
The rest of movie builds some suspense and has some laughs along the way. The climax delivers one of the best gags, but the journey there is uneven. Viswanathan’s colder, uptight Marian has some of the best lines, but they can’t save the movie from feeling underdone.
Fans who are letdown by Ethan Coen’s solo film will be happy to hear that the brothers announced they will be making another film together in the future. So when they look back on Dolls, fans can say, ‘Yeah, that happened.’
Drive Away Dolls is currently in theathers.
Though Dolls has some memorable moments, the laughs don’t add up to the expectations fans would have for the movie. The slapstick tone and campiness don’t always work, making this another example of one filmmaker on their own not being as good as when they’re paired with another.
There’s a list of tropes that one can expect to see in a Coen Brother’s movie; many of them are in Dolls. But here they feel more recycled. Margaret Qualley’s Jamie seems like a lesbian version of Nic Cage’s character in Raising Arizona, whose intelligence is hidden behind his Southern drawl. What seemed to work with this type of character 30 years ago comes across now as overwritten dialogue. Jamie seems to also be just some sort of manic, pixie, dream lesbian, swirling sex appeal, nihilism, and instability.
Other familiar character types from the Coen-verse are here, too. Beanie Feldstein plays loud, angry police officer Suki, who is Jamie’s ex and provides a lot of the comic relief. Colman Domingo, who’s underused here, plays some kind of mobster who is supposed to pick up a ‘drive away’ with his two, bickering thugs, Flint (C.J. Wilson) and Arliss (Joey Slotnick).
The plot really begins when Jamie and platonic, lesbian best friend Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan) decide to get away to Tallahassee by checking for ‘drive aways’, an antiquated service where people are hired to drive a car to a specific location. The friends get mistaken for the thugs and are given the car meant for Domingo’s character, simply called ‘The Chief’.
The rest of movie builds some suspense and has some laughs along the way. The climax delivers one of the best gags, but the journey there is uneven. Viswanathan’s colder, uptight Marian has some of the best lines, but they can’t save the movie from feeling underdone.
Fans who are letdown by Ethan Coen’s solo film will be happy to hear that the brothers announced they will be making another film together in the future. So when they look back on Dolls, fans can say, ‘Yeah, that happened.’
Drive Away Dolls is currently in theathers.
-EB