There are odd films and then there are filmic oddities, Drive Away Dolls is such a film that is both. Following the split of the Coen brothers as a film-making pair who have made frankly some of the best films ever made, much was said about whether or not things would shine through in their solo films illuminating who led what films they worked on together. It just so happens that the first film Joel chose to make was an asteer and prestigious adaptation of literary source material, which certainly sounds like one lane of the Coens and then it just so happens that Ethan has chosen to make with his partner Tricia Cooke a rollicking mad-cap road trip crime movie, which sounds like the other famous Coens lane. So it is as simple as that? Was Joel the serious one and Ethan the wacky one? Is it the alchemy that makes those previous films so great or can they each make solid films separately? Personally, I certainly think so.

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This is however with Drive Away Dolls not a solo effort for Ethan Coen, he is working here in writing and it seems in directing with his longtime partner Tricia Cooke, who is herself openly queer. Together they have penned a film that is equal parts absurdist and equal parts unapologetically queer and vibrant and then equal parts classic Coens crime movie, all in a combination that for me worked plentifully. I had a great time with the 80 minute in and out that was Drive Away Dolls and I seriously do not understand the crowd saying this is a terrible film. This is fun, this is free, this is filled with great performances and great writing and some really great sequences on-top of all that. Cooke and Coen’s screenplay is very fun and very funny overflowing with great characters played by brilliant actors, all of which are on the same page of camp and tone, whether it be Colman Domingo with his subtle glares or Pedro Pascal as a screaming frightened queen or Bill Camp as a stoic older man who gets the best line in the film, and top of all that there is the wonderful Matt Damon who again just knows exactly what sort of film he is in and goes for it. However the film belongs to Geraldine Viswanathan and Margaret Qually as our two leads, who are both so charming, delightful and propellant as they lead us through this film without ever missing a beat or leading us astray. It’s two incredibly assured star performances that this film needs with all of its looseness. The film’s only error for me is a series of absolutely atrocious scene transitions, none of which worked for me in the slightest and every single one of them took me out of the movie whole heartedly. But thankfully these were merely momentary and the later more psychedelic ones did have a purpose at least and led to a great cameo that just furthers the queer joy of the whole thing. Does the film feel slight? Perhaps. Or are we just so accustomed to films outstaying their welcome that this feels shockingly different? Or rather to play devils advocate and although I don’t agree, are we just so accustomed to Coen brothers films feeling so much weightier, meatier and of more depth that this feels shallow?

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An 8/10 that might feel slight in comparison to other films in the Coen brothers cannon and certainly looks slight next to Joels’ Tragedy of Macbeth, but in its joyous nature and in its brilliantly lovable characters and with its ensemble of excellent performances, for my money a lot more worth can be found in this side of the split than in the drudgery of Macbeth. But the joy of the Coen’s has always been the variety, and so I just cannot get on any bandwagon that wishes to dismiss this film as so many have already done. This film flies by and is devilishly good fun and a frankly great time at the movies. So strap on and enjoy the ride.

P.S. If Coen and Cooke do plan to continue this as a trilogy of queer crime films than I couldn’t be more in if I tried. Whether they be whole new characters or the continuing adventures of Jamie and Marian then either way I will be there… And if Joel wants to do another Shakespeare I’ll be there for that too. And if… Just if… the two of them ever wanted to get back together to make another of the greatest movies of their era, then I’d be down for that too I think.

-        Thomas Carruthers