Drive-Away Dolls Reviews (original) (raw)

In the classic queer punk tradition of Bruce LaBruce, John Waters, and Gregg Araki, Ethan Coen’s film knows when to pay homage and when to move to its own rhythm.

In many ways this feels like an update on the exploitation movies of the 1970s and '80s that played on drive-in theater screens before eventually making their way to VHS and late-night TV cult viewings. It’s Sharp Cheddar Cheese on Wry (sorry) and it’s a cool and breezy 84 minutes of fun.

Confesso que me diverti bastante com a história dessas garotas. Aqui a lesbianidade surge como um elemento que é amis acessório do que propriamente vai guiar a trama, tendo o roteiro de 1990 feito piadas na medida certa. Uma pena que os vilões são bem ruins,e quando resolvem dar as caras com as protagonistas, fica tudo muito pior. Tem elementos bizarros, claro, mas como comédia funciona pela mão sempre talentosa do Cohen, que soube dosar o grotesco sem cair na vergonha alheia. Um road movie simpático, curto e bem divertido, embora nada muito memorável.

Ethan Coen's solo work without Joel and after the Jerry Lee Lewis documentary. “Drive-Away Dolls”, directed by Ethan and written with his wife Tricia Cooke, is a ****, light-hearted road movie, full of black humor, cinephile references, many formal and narrative stereotypes, as well as important themes, even if only touched upon or never deliberately in-depth (sexual liberation, being a lesbian in a society that judges you, the strength of the female point of view in opposition to the – often short-sighted, immature – male one). This film is a fun and entertaining operation, light (perhaps too much...), which aims to follow the works that made the Coen brothers famous at the beginning of their career (a compendium of their cinema, recognizable in its aesthetics, in the series of bizarre unexpected events and misunderstandings or in the often illogical comedy, used within the narrative - which continues to see in the absurd and nonsense the key to reading reality), and at the same time also pay homage to the B series films of this genre and of the recent past. The large cast is interesting: Margaret Qualley (the daughter of actress Andie MacDowell) and her partner Geraldine Viswanathan, they work very well and are lovable; just as the other guest stars Pedro Pascal, Colman Domingo, Bill Camp, Matt Damon and Miley Cyrus are also irresistible. Directional style, rhythm and music, functional and effective. In short, a grotesque comedy, more harmless than irreverent; easy and overall not entirely successful, to be honest; but fast, crazy and in its own way overwhelming and enjoyable. Obviously if the spectator accepts the rules, and suspends his reticence and disbelief. Rating: 5.75 – 6

It doesn’t fully cohere, but it sure is a party.

The film is a lesbian-road-trip gangster farce with a hint of political satire, and though it’s admirably offbeat I found it only mildly amusing.

The slight and scanty Drive-Away Dolls could dissipate with a gust of wind, but it beats a hasty getaway before that becomes a problem. While its story fails to justify its own existence, it delivers what it says on the tin: dumb, randy fun, even if that feels retrograde in more ways than one.

It’s not entirely without redeeming features. Margaret Qualley’s game lead turn would fit into the joint Coen canon on its own merits, and the final line (yes, I’m reaching, already) does land with a certain Billy Wilder-esque comic grace.

Drive-Away Dolls is, at its core, a comedy about eccentric people contending with inept but still deadly criminals. But neither the eccentrics nor the criminals feel remotely like real people, and their hijinks never summon up much hilarity or suspense.

Drive-Away Dolls is a fun movie with lots of sex and **** folks. Especially when Jamie asked, "This place is lesbian-friendly, right?" made me burst very hard. It's not a perfect movie, but I would watch Margaret Qualley even if she plays in Bollywood. Sorry, India.

Lighting quick road trip comedy that has its moments and delivers on what it set out to do with a light as can be plot.

Not sure why I'm not giving this a 1 – maybe because there were a couple of lines that actually made me grin. Sitting through this wretched piece of dreck, however, is too high to pay for such a slim payoff. And what the heck is the name "Coen" doing on this garbage? The plot, such as it is: forgettable. The acting: horrendous, especially for poor Margaret Qualley (aka Jamie) who's saddled with the most cornpone on-screen accent I think I've ever heard. Even the filmmaker's attempt at the occasional flourish: What was with those 70's-era, almost Bond-esque interludes? The viewer can only be mystified by how they're meant to advance the plot. Oh no, wait – I just figured it out! Someone decided that audience members were likely to be stoned out of their gourdes, thus the psychadelice blurry-blob imagery. In conclusion....... Run, don't walk, from this flick. It's yet another reason that I've nearly given up on making trips to the theater. $17 + my date's ticket + dinner before the show, and for what?? SCHLOCK.

It's really bad. It starts just kind of cringe and annoying, but it gets worse the longer it takes. If I have to describe it, it reminded me of Freddy got Fingered and American Pie levels of sleaze, wrapped in a lesbian, no country for old men fan fiction. The acting and writing is very bad and annoying and the final climactic conclusion is completely ridiculous. I came to see what Ethan Coen came up with, but now I just want my 83 minutes and 13,50 euros back.

It's crazy how a talented director and cast can make this level of garbage. It is so cringe-worthy that your eyes will hurt from rolling them back many times. It also doesn't help that it feels incredibly dated. This is the kind of movie you'd expect to see in the early 2000s, not 2024.

Production Company Focus Features, Working Title Films

Release Date Feb 23, 2024

Duration 1 h 24 m

Rating R

Tagline A story of two ladies going south.

International Cinematographers' Film Festival Manaki Brothers