Ethan Coen’s solo debut likes lesbianism and goofy crime capers.
I’m a member of the Chicago International Film Festival, which even entitles me to emails about screenings that I can’t attend because I live in Jersey (and no one has invented a teleportation device yet). However, one of the messages regards a double feature between Ethan Coen’s solo feature “Drive-Away Dolls” and a 1950 film that serves as inspiration for that. It was called “Gun Crazy,” and it was a fresh movie about a man who loves guns but hates killing, and he joins a circus performer on a cross country crime spree. If you haven’t seen it, I suggest you check it out.
The two gay heroines of “Drive-Away Dolls” aren’t gun crazy criminals, but rather they share a same mood analogy as Roger Rabbit and Eddie Valiant in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.” Set in 1999, the more outgoing one is the Southern prostitute Jamie (Margaret Qualley), while the serious and responsible one is Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan). The former just broke up with her cop girlfriend (Beanie Feldstein), while the latter plans to visit her aunt in Tallahassee, Florida. That’s when Jamie decides to tag along and suggest they do a drive-away deal.
“Drive-Away Dolls” doesn’t compare with the Coen Brothers’ best films (“Fargo” and “No Country For Old Men” being among them), because it includes some obligatory psychedelic scenes, which seem as excuses for the script to make the film qualify as a film with an 84 minute time frame. But nonetheless, as an a Coen film (remember, it’s just Ethan), it still has an honest sense of humor-the kind to deceive us at one point-and it shares a passion for lesbianism, kudos to the leading characters Jamie and Marion.
What they don’t know, however, is that the car they’re driving contains a briefcase, originally belonging to a murdered man known as The Collector (Pedro Pascal), and now supposed to go to the corrupt Senator Gary Channel (Matt Damon) in Tallahassee. The drive-away businessman Curlie (Bill Camp) gave the car to the girls, and now, Channel’s henchmen-consisting of The Chief (Coleman Domingo) and his bumbling goons Arliss (Joey Slotnick) and Flint (C.J. Wilson)-must all get it back.
Now, you would suggest I’m giving away the story if I’m saying the suitcase belongs to a Senator. But you saw Matt Damon in the trailer, his character’s name is listed on the IMDB page, and movies sure do love corrupt politicians. I wish I had a nickel for every time we got those.
What’s in the suitcase? The two young women who open it don’t show us at the moment, and neither did Vincent Vega or Jules Winnfield in “Pulp Fiction.” I can assume it’s something golden if it lights up, and in “Drive-Away Dolls,” I can assume that’s money if it belongs to a politician. Or I could be wrong about that.
Again, this is a short movie with an imperfect screenplay, but the comedy and performances make it a good ride. The two friends contemplate on whether or not they should develop a relationship, the villains are not supposed to be the serious and irritable kinds, and they’re all spiked with Coen taste. Maybe that’s the real element of the movie that has us wanting to see it.
Ethan was focusing more on theater work and felt tired of filmmaking, while Joel was working on “The Tragedy of MacBeth.” However, “Drive-Away Dolls” was conceived by both him and Cooke, and the COVID-19 pandemic gave them some time to develop it. I’m sure glad they got to work on it.
