After finishing the film “Drive-Away Dolls” can be described as a funny, erotic, and very feminine B-movie, one of the first things that comes to mind is how refreshing it is to have this particular Coen Brothers back. Yes, this is the quintessentially eccentric theme that we last saw in “Burn After Reading” which has its own animation and richness and is free of the norms and decorum found in any other space.
But let’s be clear, it is not exactly as it was in the beginning. This time, it is one brother, Ethan Coen. Coen was the one sitting in the director’s chair while Joel partnered with screenwriter (and wife) Tricia Cooke on the script. With a free and daring style, the two create an engaging road trip movie that’s a cross between the crime center of Fargo and the more comical aspects of Burn After Reading. The end result is two lesbian Best friends go on a journey to Tallahassee TJ Maryland which happens to be the focal point of the jokes and a movie, that pays homage to both old-timey nutcases and the 90s independent scene while throwing a ton of absurd plot twists and, uh, dildos at every size possible.
Returning to dildos, it also has a wall-mounted one so yeah, to this location, a dildo wall. (Maybe, it is a real thing or perhaps it is solely for comedic value but it is superbly entertaining). The amazing Beanie Feldstein, a veteran actress, is back in an inimitable style, playing a reckless and gun-shooting cop Sukie, native to Gantasca and the owner of the outlandishly bizarre ass mold, post her dramatic break-up with her girlfriend. Jamie is played by Qualley as an over-the-top woman who is very sexually experimental and simply does not believe in being faithful to her partner. When it comes to Jamie, a breakup is merely a chance to take her best friend Marian, who is an uptight and principled lesbian, on an adventure, to find binoculars in Florida. They would certainly arrive but not without first visiting various popular lesbian bars, BBQ joints, and motels throughout Jamie\’s planned route in order to assist the enigmatic Marian in loosening up a little and perhaps having some fun on the side.
The setting of the story is 1999, which is the year when people all over the world were experiencing the Y2K hype, and as well society was about to go more conservative with respect to the way things were done. A period of time that eliminates cell phones and all social media activities as hindrances to the successful perpetration of the crime. The intention of the women is not complex, they hope to pick up a drive-off car that is supposed to head for Tallahassee. There, they get one car from Curlie’s (Bill Camp) dubious joint that facilitates such arrangements. Only this time, it is the wrong one, alien, the grasp of which had a freak collectible (Pedro Pascal) that was supposed to be delivered by petty criminals—smooth-talking shyster chatter Arliss (Joey Slotnick) and constantly irritable Flint (C. J. Wilson) to the owner. (Just wait to find out what is in there. This one will show you what is in there; it is not like “Pulp Fiction.”)
In the film, at one moment you see Marian in a borrowed Dodge Aries, and at another moment you see Jamie in the same car and then you switch to the two criminals in another car pursuing them, so for very little, you get not one but two sets of quarreling strangers driving on a road.
And while Slotnick and Wilson, who appeared earlier in A Play Is a Poem, the collection of plays by Ethan Coen, may be sufficiently compelling, the prime focus, as always, is the fascinating interplay between the two – Jamie and Marian. It’s easy to get carried away with Qualley as she overacts her Southern twang and poses in a sexy, muscular way, ‘She’s still a wild one’ is an understatement; she is a tantalizing force who brings a whirlwind with her. Jamie restrains the chaos that is Qualley’s dominance while it is slowly building up in Viswanathan until her Marian is gradually revealed, a curve that is perfectly executed by one of today’s most talented leading actresses who deserves to be given the main roles today. Elsewhere, Feldstein is cast as the fierce officer in the film who would stop at nothing to send crazy thugs to pursue Jamie and it is easy to see why she is Neder’s rightful fury and some of the comical moments in the movie. In relatively short appearances, Matt Damon and Colman Domingo are very funny as a conservative and phony politician and the main villain of the film respectively.
It is difficult not to compare “Drive-Away Dolls” to previous works featuring the distinct, strange spin of the crime-investigation genre, most notably because the Coen brothers have produced many similarly eccentric projects before. This, however, does not seem to dampen the thrill that the film generates with all its raucous shenanigans. It is evident that making the movie was a joyous occasion for everyone who took part in it. In this, there is a compelling what the hell, why not element to Cooke and Coen’s writing, with the ease and spontaneity of Jamie and Marian\’s acts and lines creating vivid images in the viewers’ minds. The cherry on top is the overall feel of the ludicrous journey which, quite miraculously, reinforces the belief in the feminine wits and joys. With its funny concept, Drive-Away Dolls makes one wish to escape its surreal world filled with dusty landscapes, mesmerizing settings, and a couple of mind-bending memories.
For More Movie Like Drive-Away Dolls on 123Movies
