Drive-Away Dolls review by Bobby Blakey
As a duo, the Coen brothers delivered some fantastic movies including Raising Arizona, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, O Brother,? Where Art Thou?, No Country For Old Men and so many more. Now Ethan Coen is going solo with his latest film Drive-Away Dolls starring Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan, Beanie Feldstein, Matt Damon, Pedro Pascal, Colman Domingo, and Bill Camp. Could this comedy bring more laughs and another great entry into his filmography, or will the road be too hard to navigate?
Drive Away Dolls follows Jamie, an uninhibited free spirit bemoaning yet another breakup with a girlfriend, and her demure friend Marian, who desperately needs to loosen up. In search of a fresh start, the two embark on an impromptu road trip to Tallahassee, but things quickly go awry when they cross paths with a group of inept criminals along the way.
I knew the trailer to this film looked fun but didn’t fully know where it was all going, and I can happily tell you that it was nothing like I expected. Like their previous films Coen calls all in here and not only brings the laughs, but the insane over the top nature to a fun yet familiar story. The idea is one that we have seen before with unsuspecting people getting thrust into something they have nothing to do with and madness ensues.
As a story just about the friendship and love life of these two it would have worked alone as both Qualley and Viswanathan are great together. They have a fun chemistry, and as polar opposites compliment each other well. Add to the mix the misunderstanding that takes them on their journey, and you have a whole new level of fun and insanity. While these two are fantastic it’s the smaller role of the
always great Beanie Feldstein that had me cracking up.
There are a lot of elements that made me think of Raising Arizona in its tone and visuals, but make no mistake, this is its own animal. The supporting characters are just strange enough to be quirky, but not so far out there to make it weird. The entire cast adds to that tone and look to be having a lot of fun with this crazy story. Filled with some unexpected twists, bizarre circumstances, love, betrayal and everything in between, this film delivers so much more than I expected.
At the base of it all there is a love story that is heartfelt and wacky in a fun way. I really enjoyed this film and reminds me of the kind of R rated comedies that we don’t get enough of these days. It does its own thing and doesn’t try to back down from anything complete with some bigger names getting in on the fun like Damon and Pascal in smaller but great roles.
Decide for yourself and check out Drive-Away Dolls now on digital, Blu-ray, DVD and streaming on Peacock from Universal.