Performances: :star::star::star::star::star:
Cinematography: :star::star::star:1/2
Script: :star::star::star:
Music: :star::star:
Editing: :star:1/2

Not bad for the lesser Coen's (sorry Ethan) first solo outing. It's easy to see, looking back, which elements of the '04-'18 Coen era were more distinctly Ethan's, or at least, less distinctly Joel's. It's therefore difficult to discern whether Dolls is set in the late 90's on accident, or because that aesthetic makes up 100% of Ethan's comfort zone. I only wish it were a little longer; it felt like the entire third act got dropped on the cutting room floor by a particularly clumsy intern. It did set me on a path researching the real-life Cynthia Plaster Caster, though

I only ranked the music so low because Carter Burwell is credited as writing the score (his unique musical style shines through during the opening scene), but most of the soundtrack is licensed music. In a vacuum, there's nothing wrong with licensed music, BUT YOU'VE GOT CARTER MOTHERF**KING BURWELL SITTING IN THE CORNER WITH HIS THUMB UP HIS @$$, PUT HIS OSCAR-NOMINATED TALENTS TO USE FOR PETE'S SAKE!!!

P.S. Moments before I bought my tickets to see this, my co-worker told me they had walked out on the film the night before. I thought they were trying to tell me it was a bad movie. They weren't, and it isn't. I can only attempt to glean that they walked out for the same reason certain folks might have walked out of Poor Things. And trust me, if you made it through Poor Things, you can definitely make it though this. iykyk

It pains me to give this movie a negative review, but ultimately, Drive Away Dolls feels like a very disposable movie that isn't even aiming to be more than a bit of fluff. In doing so, it wastes some excellent talent and potential. The movie's storyline, at a high level, follows an odd pair buddy road trip style movie, and both Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan are solid in their roles. The problem is that the movie is trying to be very lowbrow, and a lot of the jokes end up feeling extremely juvenile to a degree where the movie hardly elicited any laughs at all in my full theater. It's as if they get the setup teed up perfectly, but completely fall flat when it comes to the punch lines. You get some of the zany and whimsical characters you'd expect from a Coen movie, and the two men chasing the main characters were a particular highlight. Colman Domingo and Beanie Feldstein are completely wasted. The movie utilizes some transitions that I found fairly clever, and also some transitions that annoyed me a ton. There are some cool ways the movie stitches together movement from one frame to the next. It also devolves into some extremely unnecessary psychedelic sequences at times which didn't make any sense to me as the movie isn't revolving around drugs in any way. These sequences can last for a decent chunk of time which adds up, and for a movie that is only 80 minutes long, that completely superfluous padding feels even more out of place. Maybe this movie was made for some people who just wanted to get high and waste 80 minutes, but then it should have been more upfront about that in its marketing and skipped the theatrical release. Regardless, I feel like had Ethan Coen actually tried to finish this movie properly, he could have made something far better than this half-baked juvenile attempt that wasted such good talent.

'Drive-Away Dolls' is a fairly fun time.

It's a pretty straightforward movie, one that moves along at a decent pace and tells its story well enough. Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan give good performances, Qualley overacts a bit sometimes but as the film progressed I enjoyed her more and more. The editing is something I feel similarly about, some bits aren't the best imo.

All in all, it works. The relatively short run time is a big help, admittedly.

"Jamie" (Margaret Qualley) embarks on a road trip with her rather het-up friend "Marian" (Geraldine Viswanathan) to Tallahassee. A roadside puncture causes them to explore the boot for the spare tyre and let's just say what they find isn't quite the same thing - though maybe just as rubbery. Meantime, Colman Domingo and his two henchmen are quickly hot on their trail seeking that very thing. A few vaguely comedic escapades now ensue as the two women start to realise their relationship could be more than that of just friends and that there could well be an opportunity to make a few quid from their newly found treasure. Joey Slotnick and CJ Wilson try their best as the goons but otherwise this is a thinly stretched comedy that relies far too much on the supposed shocks or comedy from it's lesbian theme and nowhere near enough on any degree of originality with the script. It vacillates between the dull and crass, and neither Domingo nor Matt Damon make anything like enough of a contribution to make much difference to the well travelled path the story takes. If you're at all discerning about what makes you laugh then this won't be for you, sorry.