Drive-Away Dolls

After seeing the trailer to Drive Away Dolls, I was expecting a crime caper comedy, but I saw the movie and got something different and not in a good way.

This movie I felt was trying more to shock us then being funny. Had promise but got wasted on lazy storytelling, and two characters who are amusing but then quickly I was feeling smothered by. Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan are talented, and have good chemistry, but the problem is I wish they where better written, Qualley overacts and Viswanathan under acts. Other actors who I will not name come in and do very little here. This movie is a trainwreck.

Fun yet disappointing. It's a b-movie that's a raunchy, adventurous lesbian comedy-drama road trip. So creatively it sorta has a lot going for it. It has some funny bits, but it's not as fun and funny as i thought it'd be. It is a pleasant contrast to most self-consciously serious movies out there currently though. The movie had these transitions that reminded me of That 70's show; using graphics or clips that felt out of place to segue between scenes.

The actors seemed like they belonged to different films, which makes sense considering the main actresses, Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan, were accidentally thrust into a criminal world. While the two girls treated their roles with a playful, unserious tone, Colman Domingo and Senator Matt Damon took their roles seriously, like actual gangsters despite the unserious and amusing dialogue. The headline "Senator shot outside lesbian bar" was funny. The goons fully embraced the movie's absurdity, while Pedro Pascal appeared to be in a different film entirely. His opening scene had felt very comic-bookish, and Miley Cyrus was in these psychedelic scenes that are later explained.

It's a movie that doesn't take itself seriously at all, and I think that works in its favor. Yet, I find myself slightly disappointed, thinking what the film could have been. As I said, creatively it had a lot going for it, but doesn't feel like it tried to push the envelope at all. It could've been a lighthearted 'Saltburn', or it could've been more goofy and funny, or way more vulgar and chaotic, or it could've been really thrilling like if some of the bad guys were actually frightening and intimidating. The girls never felt like they were in any danger. It feels like they could've pushed the movie in different directions but instead it's somewhere meddling in the middle. The movie played it safe.

The plot meanders through ridiculous scenarios on a purposeless road trip, intentional in its pointlessness. It is a short movie, but I also think there were some conversations that didn't really add much; scenes that wouldn't make much difference if removed. Jamie and Marian weren't the most interesting of characters and didn't have much of a spark. Their relationship could've been written better.

The movies not too terrible, I just think it had the potential to be more fun, funny and charming. Something that would light you up. The movie exudes pizazz but feels like it's missing it at the same time.

I'm shocked! What is with all the negative response to this film? Did people have extreme high expectations or am I missing something?

I had a really fun time watching "Drive Away Dolls". I had no expectations whatsoever going in, all I knew was that it was directed by one of the Coen brothers. So I was pleasantly surprised how easily I was hooked into the story and its characters. It's a stripped back, simple, buddy comedy, with a modern flare to it. I found myself laughing at the jokes, which is a rarity in film for me, and overall just buying the entire wacky concept.

Is this film doing anything mind blowing? No. Is this film meant to be up for awards? No. Is this film going to be redefining cinema? No. It doesn't have to be any of those things, just an overall good, easy film to watch. One that is over in the less the 1 hour 30 mins, which flew by. Could have it been better, of course it could have been. The story maybe more fleshed out, the characters better developed. However, that would have made it drag on and messed up the high flying pace.

I am astounded by the really bad negative reaction to this film. Makes me wonder if I'm missing something or if I just have bad taste haha. I'm not even a Coen fan, I think their films can be very up and down. I went in wanting to be entertained and have fun doing so. This film achieved that.

70% out of 100%, its good and thats completely fine. Nothing thats gonna make you have an outer body experience or change your definition of film making. However, it might make you laugh and have a fun time.

This maybe had 45-50 minutes worth of content and it made 84 minutes feel long. The script needed a lot of work and I'm shocked Ethan Coen released something this half baked.

There are a few moments of enjoyment but, they are few and far between. They went for a campy feel but I never found Qualley's performance convincing and Viswanathan came off more wooden than intended. The side characters had more funny moments and funny performances than the leads.

On the plus side, the last 10-15 minutes were thoroughly entertaining. It's like they had an ending in mind and worked backwards from there. It failed miserably to build something worthy of the idea and had some unintentional cringeworthy moments.

A movie like this relies almost entirely on the charisma and chemistry of the two leads. I suppose either it works for you or it doesn't. Definitely didn't for me, but hey. Although there are moments early on that feel promising, it never quite gets to where you thought it would.

I never thought I'd say this, but the Coen brand of humor ticked up just one notch too far in the "silly" direction with this one. Unfortunately, this made the tender and emotionally targeted parts of the film feel forced and underdeveloped.

In all, it just felt like the marketing and promotion was a bit mismanaged on this movie. It wasn't an "on the run" cat and mouse movie by any means. More of a light hearted, raunchy, cutesy love story.

The only thing going for it is the quick runtime, and even that felt like a slog at times.

3 stars for trying.