The first thought after emerging from “Drive-Away Dolls”, an over-the-top, sexualized and ungodly feminine B-movie, is how much one has missed this brand of the Coen Brothers. This funny, familiar zip that last graced screens in either Burn After Reading or Hail, Caesar! which proudly stood on its own terms Voyaging in a unique colorful cadence-oblivious to what beats or decorum is implemented elsewhere.
Quite the contrary, it is only one brother this time, just to be clear Ethan Coen, directing minus Joel and script by his wife, Tricia Cooke. The two are gallant enough to dream big, and they certainly deliver their tongue-in-cheek road movie has one foot in the crime basin of Fargo (though don’t expect dark, snowy weather in the sunny Dolls) and the other in the utterly ridiculous criminal antics of Burn After Reading. It features two lesbian friends traveling from New York to Tallahassee in the midst of a Southern farce which is dryly amusing in its portrayal of the Eastern-European immigrant-gone-hick brand of humor, the film uses dildos of all shapes and sizes as props for ludicrous plotlines to good effect.
What about where a wall-mounted dildo is!!!??? (I don’t even know whether it is true or false, but it is quite comic.) Being the owner of such a very interesting sex toy is sex-deprived and vengeful cop Sukie (a usually great but never better Beanie Feldstein) after a dramatic scene break up with her partner. Who is her irritating ex-boyfriend? It’s the lovely Jaime played by the stunning Margaret Qualley, a genuinely sexually liberated opportunity-seeking woman who would do anything. And what is a breaking up for Jamie if not a time to embark on a quest with her best friend Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan, encased with so much otherworldly charm), who is a strict Notre Dame graduate looking for a relaxing vacation in Florida to go birdwatching. Yes, they would get there but only after they have exhausted themselves visiting popular queer clubs, barbeque areas, and lodgings that were included in Jamie’s map, aimed at loosening up the uptight and intelligent Marian and perhaps even having some sex for fun.
The year is 1999, if one believes that hyper wooden and soulless looking conservatism and Y2K panic in the air is the definition of a decade that is infamously known to have ruled the majority of the torsos in the West. Luckily, this era saddles the audience with neither obnoxious cell phones or omnipresent social platforms than can be abstracted as an impressive potential hindrance to the featured crime. The simplified agenda of the ladies involves seeking out a vehicle that is on its way to Tallahassee and drives away. They finally nab one at several reputable establishments involved in these sorts of shady deals thanks to Curlie’s (Bill Camp) help. Except this time the target turns out to be the incorrect automobile: ‘the mark’ was a suitcase that belonged to a mysterious bag collector (Pedro Pascal) and it was supposed to be taken by two moronic small-time crooks–the borderline sweet-talking mope Arliss (Joey Slotnick) and the very angry Flint (C. J. Wilson)–as they assured the suitcase’s rightful owner. (Wait until you see how it flips open, “Pulp Fiction,” it’s the antithesis to this film.)
The film lightly switches between Marian and Jamie utilizing the Dodge Aries they commandeered along with the car driven by the miscreants pursuing them, thus treating the audience to not one but two pairs of completely insane and utterly dysfunctional travel companions.
The real highlight, however, remains the lively connection between Jamie and Marian that is at the center of the film. Jamie, played by Qualley, is an exciting, exuberant and fierce character with the type of spirit which is simply breathtaking, and is what everyone is talking about–she is a ‘one off.’ Slotnick and Wilson of course, who also featured in A Play Is a Poem, Ethan Cohen’s anthology of stage plays come across as very interesting characters too. The seemingly limitless energy that Qualley posses s has met its perfect balance in Viswanathan’s slowly building harmony in order to reveal her character Marian. It is a transformation that Viswanathan is able to deftly portray as one of the more stunning leading actresses performing at present. Ms. Viswanathan should without a doubt be booked for several lead roles in the near future. On a different note, Feldstein’s delivery is the best–a passionate officer who will do whatever it takes to get the reckless thugs to run at Jamie–she plays out Sukie’s rightful anger and snatches some of the best comedic moments in the movie. In brief appearances, Matt Damon and Colman Domingo create a vivid impression as a conservative politician on the take and as the main villain of the picture, accordingly.
There is sometimes a faint trace of the obvious in “Drive-Away Dolls,” which is somehow unable to escape the heavy clouds of comparisons with earlier idiosyncratic crime comedies, many of which were crafted by the Coens themselves. But that does not lessen the great nostalgic pleasure that this film in its all vulgar and mischievous splendor provokes in one. It is delightful also precisely because the fun that each and every person involved in this particular project had so clearly comes through on the screen. In this regard, Cooke and Coen’s writing has a sort of ‘what the hell, why not’ feel to it that is really quite disarming, with Jamie and Marian’s carefree words and actions simply jumping off the page and into the viewers’ eyes and ears with ease. Most importantly, the flavor left in the mouth by this strange cocktail of absurdist comedy is at the same time surprisingly sweet and even romantic due to its absolute belief in the smartness and pleasures of being a woman. “Drive-Away Dolls” possesses a certain type of charisma that you just can’t help but want to escape with, from the dusty landscapes of America, vibrant stills, and impressive flashbacks.
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