"Drive-Away Dolls" is a really new movie from 2024, a co-production between the United Kingdom and United States of America in the English language and as the Coens are pretty much my favorite filmmakers ever, I was of course curious what Ethan would come up with here. As you can see from my rating, I don't think it was bad, but still overall on the mediocre side, especially if we compare it to all the other stuff Ethan worked on with his brother. Here he was also in charge of both the script and the direction, direction on his own and screenplay was a co-production between him and his wife Tricia Cooke. The latter is not only married to him since the 1990s, but also a longtime collaborator with the Coens in the editing department. What we have here is a really short film. It stays considerably under the 1.5-hour mark and this already includes the credits, so the film really only runs for pretty much 75 minutes. And if around 40 minutes of those, do not do too much for me, then this leaves a considerably negative impact. The movie only became really interesting I thought from the moment the two young women find what is in the trunk of their car. So as the title already gives away, we have two females at the center of the story here. The first is portrayed by Margaret Qualley, one of the big plays on the small screen lately, also awards-wise and the second actress is certainly the lesser-known, namely Geraldine Viswanathan, but I have a feeling with her that there may be a successful big-screen career ahead. Time will tell. She is pretty stunning too.
In the supporting cast, you find Beanie Feldstein, first time I really see her in something since "Booksmart", from which also already five years have passed. Time flies. I am sure Coen would have loved for his film here to become as successful as "Booksmart". Wasn't meant to be. Feldstein is only in it for the comedy and for shooting Matt Damon, but we will get to that later. As a big Nip/Tuck fan, I of course have to mention Joey Slotnick, even if I did not make the connection right away because he has no hair in this film here and of course many years passed. Colman Domingo plays the leader from the bad guys, he is credited as The Chief here. Well, you can certainly say that his role in the last awards season in which he was crucially featured for another film was very boss-like, especially with the happy ending that he got in at the Oscars. In this film we have here, he was a bit more on the forgettable side. Pedro Pascal is also always appreciated, but he is only in it at the very beginning. These actors I appreciate in here or actually I just mentioned did not really have a good chance to survive the film. Or rather their characters of course. One who does survive it, is Matt Damon's character. Fine little cameo there towards the end, but also on the big billboard already earlier. Still, even if he lives, he is far from lucky and his political career is over in the most insane of all twists with the two items it involves. Or rather six. That the Coens always have a touch to make minor characters look interesting is proven once again here mostly through Curlie. His scene with the girls was nice and same is true about the scene with the bad guys. He takes quite a beating there, but he lives I think. Nice portrayal by Bill Camp there. I would watch a film only about this character.
If you have watched "Burn After Reading" from over 15 years ago now, then you saw an application in that movie that also had to do with sexually pleasuring women and I guess with the way Ethan elaborates in this one here on penis replicas or whatever you call them and also pleasure toys early on before that, you can take a guess which of the two Coens came up with that idea in "Burn After Reading". It did not do too much for me here overall, even if the moment when Damon's character at the very end elaborated on which sculpture belongs to whom was fairly funny. Speaking of funny, by the way, another character that was included very briefly and that I still liked was the big chubby prison/jail fella who is bullied by Feldstein's character. I would watch a movie about him as well. Very short inclusion, but stayed in the mind and I liked him so much more than Feldstein or her character that could have been left out for all I care. How she took care of the violent criminal who came to her place to find the other two was also more try-hard than funny. Not a good running gag. From many perspectives, you can see that this is a Coens movie. Crime you almost always find in their works, including a lot of focus on the bad guys. You also find comedy, preferably dark comedy and you find violence and the scene with Pedro Pascal at the beginning is extremely violent and also graphic, more than anything that follows afterwards really except the shooting perhaps. This shooting had one villain kill his colleague and his boss out of nowhere, so that was quite something and it also came pretty unexpected for sure. One of the best moments the film has/had to offer. Surprise is always a big element in Coen movies and that is what I like about them. It is also definitely a key aspect here. Not just this one occasion there, but on a few others as well. Just take the moment immediately afterwards when luck plays a big role for the two girls when there are no bullets left inside the gun. I mean it was kinda expected the two would live, but still. And the Coens have pretty much perfectioned really the concept of luck and coincidence in their films. Just take Chigurh and his coin.
But back to this one here: As I stated at the beginning of my review already, I definitely think that the film got way better in the second half. Romance is not necessarily something the Coens made (many) films about, but here it is included to some extent. We can wonder if the two girls become a couple. I guess early on we rather wonder if the two find partners or just one of them, but after a little while we understand that they may get together. Still, at the end it is as explicit as a Coen film can be. They are not kidding in the last shot or anything, but it is all a bit more subtle and we still understand that there is a great chance that they stay together and turn into more then just friends. I mean the sex was not too bad either gently-speaking. For Viswanathan's character there are also some flashback moments included in which we see how she came to terms with her lesbian sexuality when she was still a child and that she was really attracted to the naked women living in the neighboring house. Now that can be seen as a reference to "A Serious Man". If you have not seen that movie, I highly, highly recommend it. One of my favorite comedies of all times. But yeah, I must still say these flashback sequences here did not do a lot for me and I also would not have missed them if they had been left out.
So you see that this film despite being so short has a handful inclusions that still added very little to the film. I might not have been equally generous with my rating here and with the positive recommendation if the first half had been this good and the second this weak, but as it is the other way around, the things that stay in mind are still much fresher. Saves the film a bit and results in me giving it a positive recommendation. Besides, the "Blue Bayou" song (Linda Ronstedt), I also enjoyed. The aforementioned Matt Damon inclusion was another plus that made me lean towards this film getting a thumbs-up from me. As for Miley Cyrus' cameo, I was not impressed at all and I definitely like her more than most. But it did almost nothing for me, even if her character there was based on actual person that is even referenced in the closing credits. Anyway, I guess this is pretty much it then. Definitely no greatness this time from the younger from the Coens, but a good film eventually nonetheless that gains more steam the longer it goes really. I still hope that in the year the older from the duo turns 70 already, there will be a birthday present from them to me that they are working together on films again in the near future. That would be awesome. Then it is also absolutely possible that we get to see movies again much greater and with more awesome dialogues again (not that the ones here were bad or anything) than "Drive-Away Dolls". Admittedly also not the greatest title, not even with one word getting exchanged at the very end before the closing credits roll in. That is all. Go see this film, but seeing it once is enough and also does not have to be at a movie theater. Also the reception makes it pretty clear that there will not be a sequel, but then again, the Coens are not known at all for sequels. Already a small miracle what happened with the Fargo series. But before we are drifting even further away now, this is really it.
In the supporting cast, you find Beanie Feldstein, first time I really see her in something since "Booksmart", from which also already five years have passed. Time flies. I am sure Coen would have loved for his film here to become as successful as "Booksmart". Wasn't meant to be. Feldstein is only in it for the comedy and for shooting Matt Damon, but we will get to that later. As a big Nip/Tuck fan, I of course have to mention Joey Slotnick, even if I did not make the connection right away because he has no hair in this film here and of course many years passed. Colman Domingo plays the leader from the bad guys, he is credited as The Chief here. Well, you can certainly say that his role in the last awards season in which he was crucially featured for another film was very boss-like, especially with the happy ending that he got in at the Oscars. In this film we have here, he was a bit more on the forgettable side. Pedro Pascal is also always appreciated, but he is only in it at the very beginning. These actors I appreciate in here or actually I just mentioned did not really have a good chance to survive the film. Or rather their characters of course. One who does survive it, is Matt Damon's character. Fine little cameo there towards the end, but also on the big billboard already earlier. Still, even if he lives, he is far from lucky and his political career is over in the most insane of all twists with the two items it involves. Or rather six. That the Coens always have a touch to make minor characters look interesting is proven once again here mostly through Curlie. His scene with the girls was nice and same is true about the scene with the bad guys. He takes quite a beating there, but he lives I think. Nice portrayal by Bill Camp there. I would watch a film only about this character.
If you have watched "Burn After Reading" from over 15 years ago now, then you saw an application in that movie that also had to do with sexually pleasuring women and I guess with the way Ethan elaborates in this one here on penis replicas or whatever you call them and also pleasure toys early on before that, you can take a guess which of the two Coens came up with that idea in "Burn After Reading". It did not do too much for me here overall, even if the moment when Damon's character at the very end elaborated on which sculpture belongs to whom was fairly funny. Speaking of funny, by the way, another character that was included very briefly and that I still liked was the big chubby prison/jail fella who is bullied by Feldstein's character. I would watch a movie about him as well. Very short inclusion, but stayed in the mind and I liked him so much more than Feldstein or her character that could have been left out for all I care. How she took care of the violent criminal who came to her place to find the other two was also more try-hard than funny. Not a good running gag. From many perspectives, you can see that this is a Coens movie. Crime you almost always find in their works, including a lot of focus on the bad guys. You also find comedy, preferably dark comedy and you find violence and the scene with Pedro Pascal at the beginning is extremely violent and also graphic, more than anything that follows afterwards really except the shooting perhaps. This shooting had one villain kill his colleague and his boss out of nowhere, so that was quite something and it also came pretty unexpected for sure. One of the best moments the film has/had to offer. Surprise is always a big element in Coen movies and that is what I like about them. It is also definitely a key aspect here. Not just this one occasion there, but on a few others as well. Just take the moment immediately afterwards when luck plays a big role for the two girls when there are no bullets left inside the gun. I mean it was kinda expected the two would live, but still. And the Coens have pretty much perfectioned really the concept of luck and coincidence in their films. Just take Chigurh and his coin.
But back to this one here: As I stated at the beginning of my review already, I definitely think that the film got way better in the second half. Romance is not necessarily something the Coens made (many) films about, but here it is included to some extent. We can wonder if the two girls become a couple. I guess early on we rather wonder if the two find partners or just one of them, but after a little while we understand that they may get together. Still, at the end it is as explicit as a Coen film can be. They are not kidding in the last shot or anything, but it is all a bit more subtle and we still understand that there is a great chance that they stay together and turn into more then just friends. I mean the sex was not too bad either gently-speaking. For Viswanathan's character there are also some flashback moments included in which we see how she came to terms with her lesbian sexuality when she was still a child and that she was really attracted to the naked women living in the neighboring house. Now that can be seen as a reference to "A Serious Man". If you have not seen that movie, I highly, highly recommend it. One of my favorite comedies of all times. But yeah, I must still say these flashback sequences here did not do a lot for me and I also would not have missed them if they had been left out.
So you see that this film despite being so short has a handful inclusions that still added very little to the film. I might not have been equally generous with my rating here and with the positive recommendation if the first half had been this good and the second this weak, but as it is the other way around, the things that stay in mind are still much fresher. Saves the film a bit and results in me giving it a positive recommendation. Besides, the "Blue Bayou" song (Linda Ronstedt), I also enjoyed. The aforementioned Matt Damon inclusion was another plus that made me lean towards this film getting a thumbs-up from me. As for Miley Cyrus' cameo, I was not impressed at all and I definitely like her more than most. But it did almost nothing for me, even if her character there was based on actual person that is even referenced in the closing credits. Anyway, I guess this is pretty much it then. Definitely no greatness this time from the younger from the Coens, but a good film eventually nonetheless that gains more steam the longer it goes really. I still hope that in the year the older from the duo turns 70 already, there will be a birthday present from them to me that they are working together on films again in the near future. That would be awesome. Then it is also absolutely possible that we get to see movies again much greater and with more awesome dialogues again (not that the ones here were bad or anything) than "Drive-Away Dolls". Admittedly also not the greatest title, not even with one word getting exchanged at the very end before the closing credits roll in. That is all. Go see this film, but seeing it once is enough and also does not have to be at a movie theater. Also the reception makes it pretty clear that there will not be a sequel, but then again, the Coens are not known at all for sequels. Already a small miracle what happened with the Fargo series. But before we are drifting even further away now, this is really it.