Drive-Away Dolls Review

The most distinct and iconic directing duo has to be the Coen Brothers, consisting of Joel and Ethan Coen. Throughout their career, the have dabbled in a variety of different films and genres, with their own distinct, off beat tone, which includes the likes of Blood Simple, Miller’s Crossing, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou?,and No Country for Old Men. However, the Coens have not made a movie together since 2018 with The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, with Joel going on to make a distinctive adaptation of Macbeth with The Tragedy of Macbeth. Ethan, on the other hand, has since produced a documentary on Jerry Lee Lewis called Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind, but here marks his proper feature debut as a solo director. The film has been in development since 2007, when Ethan wrote a script called Drive-Away Dykes with his wife Tricia Cooke, inspired by the drive-in exploitation romance films of the early 1970s that he watched as a teenager. Various actresses such as Selma Blair, Holly Hunter, Christina Applegate, and Chloe Sevigny have been attached to the project at various points until it entered production in August 2022. The film, now titled Drive-Away Dolls, is finally here, and while it is not the caliber of film that Ethan makes with his brother, it is still an overall fun and funny time.

Taking place within the last days of 1999, the film follows two lesbian women, the adventurous and free-spirited Jamie (Margaret Qualley) and the quiet and reserved Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan). Having hit dead ends in their lives, the two decide to make an impromptu road trip to Tallahassee, Florida, heading there through a drive-away car service. However, due to a misunderstanding, they find themselves in possession of a mysterious metallic briefcase that is wanted by a trio of criminals, consisting of leader Chief (Colman Domingo) and his two subordinates Arliss (Joey Slotnick) and Flynt (C.J. Wison). Things go haywire as Jamie and Marian figure out what to do with the briefcase and the criminals that are pursuing them.

A really fun cast with excellent performances from Qualley and Viswanathan.

Half of the fun with Drive-Away Dolls is the actors and the performances that they give, and that’s no more evident than with the leads of Margeret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan. Qualley quickly became one of my favorite working actresses, especially after her performance opposite Christopher Abbott in Sanctuary. Viswanathan, on the other hand, is best known for her work in movies such as Blockers, Hala, and Bad Education. And the two of them here work fantastically, both off of each other and in their performances. They’re total opposites of one another, with Jamie being freewheeling, outgoing, and promiscuous while Marian is shy, stuffy, and reserved. This dynamic is best seen in the scene where they plan the road trip, where Jamie wants to go to a bunch of stops along the way while Marian simply wants to take a straightforward path to Tallahassee.

 Equally as fun as our two leads are the criminals that are chasing them. Sadly, Colman Domingo does not have much screentime as Chief. However, since Domingo is a talented actor, he’s still great and makes the most of his scenes. On the other hand, Joey Slotnick and C.J. Wilson are a lot of fun together as Arliss and Flynt. They have the same dynamic as Jamie and Marian, two complete opposites paired up together. Slotnick plays Arliss as a well-spoken and reasonable man who prefers to talk things out. Wilson, on the other hand, plays Flynt as insecure and aggressive, the kind of person who tries to strongarm his way into things to his detriment. The two of them together are as equally as fun as our two leads.

The other cast members are equally great, such as Beanie Feldstein of Booksmart and Ladybird fame as Sukie, Jamie’s cop ex-girlfriend, and Bill Camp as Curlie, the owner of the drive-away service that provides our leads with their car. The film also has an appearance from Pedro Pascal as Santos, the man who initially owns the package. There’s also a great part for Matt Damon but giving further details on his role goes into spoiler territory.

A really fun and creatively edited throwback.

As mentioned earlier, Ethan Coen has made this film as a throwback to the drive-in exploitation films of his youth, in particular those of one Russ Meyer. For those who are not in the know, Russ Meyer was a notorious director of sexploitation films, which were known for their campiness, creative editing, and use of buxom, voluptuous women. And Drive Away Dolls has the latter two in abundance, especially in its use of cinematography and editing. It has some very creative transitions, such as a piece of paper in the wind turning into a close-up of a page in a book, or the light of a highway lamp turning into the beam of Suki’s flashlight. This also includes the creative use of transition, such as the frame of the next scene being dropped in like a clapboard. The film also makes great use of a lot of dutch angles, which adds to the fun and campy tone of the movie.

However, there is one element of the movie of the movie I am not a fan of, and it is the movie’s psychedelic interludes. They sporadically come and go throughout the movie, often noted by switching to a 1.33:1 aspect ratio with rounded edges, having a grainy look to them which, alongside their psychedelic colors, give them a distinct visual look. However, my problem with them is that there are too many of them, and only the last few have some plot-relevant information to them (primarily the last one). They could easily be condensed down to one of these psychedelic sequences and the movie would be all the better for it.

While it is nowhere on the level of the Coens’ other work, Drive Away Dolls still makes for a very fun and entertaining movie, all wrapped up in a nice 84-minute package. It is made up of great cast, from the fantastic leads of a hilariously scene-stealing Margaret Qualley and a fantastic Geraldine Viswanathan and a fun supporting cast with Beanie Feldstein, Colman Domingo, Joey Slotnick, and CJ Wilson. It’s a great throwback to the roadtrip exploitation films with its creative transitions and cinematography, although several of the psychedelic interludes could have been dropped. If you’re in the mood for something that’s short yet fun and entertaining, then give this a watch, especially if you’re a fan of the Coen Brothers’ works.