Drive-Away Dolls is a movie of almosts. The movie was almost titled Drive-Away Dykes, which, the powers that be determined to be too cancellable to promote in 2024. It also almost had the backing of both Coen brothers, but alas, we only have Ethan. And regrettably, we might be almost out of chances on Geraldine Viswanathan, who continues to be great in everything she does. So if you almost want to see Drive-Away Dolls, see it for Geraldine…and for the funny, zippy hour and a half you’re about to have.
It’s 1999 in New Englandy US, where the LGBTQ living is socially acceptable at this point. Southern Jamie (Margaret Qualley) is the free spirit lesbian, recently breaking up with her girlfriend Sukie (Beanie Feldstein) and getting thrown out of their shared apartment due to Jamie’s infidelity. Desperate, Jamie approaches her more high strung lesbian friend Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan) for a place to stay, but instead the pair agree two go to Tallahassee together, to get some fresh perspective. Posing as drive-away girls at Curlie’s (Bill Camp) car dealership, the girls agree to drive the car down to Tallahassee on a one-way for cheap travel. A bit of a problem, since the Chief (Colman Domingo) and his two enforcers Arliss (Joey Slotnick) and Flint (C.J. Martin) were actually supposed to drive this special car to Tallahassee, with, um, special cargo in the trunk.
As others have pointed out, we now know which Coen wants to tell funny stories. Drive-Away Dolls wins because of Ethan Coen and his wife/co-writer Tricia Cooke’s specific hyperverbal sense of humor and character building. As expected, our leads Marian and Jamie work because of their classic mismatched buddyness (more on them later). But where the Coens always succeeded were those forgotten parts that get a chance to be more than just, say a henchmen, for example. I could have watched this road trip through the eyes of Arliss and Flint, as they try to understand and teach each other about doing a better job, verbally sniping at each other the whole way down to Tallahassee. Joey Slotnick and C.J. Martin are wonderfully cast, with Slotnick getting all that wonderful Coen b*tching about “understanding people” or the “human condition” while Martin just wants to get the show on the road. Bill Camp and Beanie Feldstein completely fit into a Coen world, with Camp an enigmatic weirdo and Feldstein a wonderful representation of a jilted lover both sad and very vengeful. And then there’s that Coen clout, dragging in all sorts of cameos that will make you jump a little (as long as you don’t see the trailers, which give em away). Two different very good actors show up as sniveling little scaredy cats holding briefcases, and a truly shocking cameo during chapter drug/sex breaks with an even more shocking, incredible character name I won’t reveal but gets said in the movie. Some of the jokes clang pretty loudly (some jokes literally feel more 1999 than 2024), but overall, Drive-Away Dolls has more hits than misses, and should draw more than just a quiet chuckle from anyone who sees it.
But the glue of the movie is the Marian/Jamie character arcs. With only 85ish minutes, Geraldine Viswanathan and Margaret Qualley have to convince everyone they they would be completely specific, different personalitied lesbians, both of whom wouldn’t be lovers but would still be friends. In addition, they have to work as a comedic, potentially romantic, and dramatic duo in equal measure, and evolve very quickly so other characters like Arliss or Sukie get chances in the sun. Fortunately, Qualley and Viswanathan are up for the challenge. Qualley’s doing a funnier version of characters she’s played in the past, having a ball throwin on a very broad Texas accent, fearless in the world as she is in the bedroom. But Viswanathan is the big winner here. Having seen her play all sorts of characters at this point, she finds another specific one for Marian. While uptight and neurotic about her feelings, Geraldine gives Marian a zest for learning and growing, reading Henry James books and relatively comfortable with her life decisions and becoming a better person. The pair spark instantly: any scene of them interacting is wonderful in a variety of ways. They’re dynamite as verbal sparring comedic partners, with Qualley’s Jamie monologuing setting up Viswanathan’s Marian for dagger alley oops. But there’s also a nice amount of chemistry there too, as both see the value in the other, growing closer emotionally, and maybe romantically. Ethan Coen shoots their intimate moments both seriously and with a touch of brevity, befitting the story he’s trying tell about these two Democrats as they say in a lesbian bar confrontation.
Much like The Big Lebowski, we’re not supposed to really learn anything here about anything. Sometimes the joy is just the journey. And any Coen brother can take me on a road trip anytime he wants. I hope at some point they make enough films that we learn all their worlds are interconnected. Maybe Marian and Jamie end up in Los Angeles, meeting up with Jeff Bridges as bowling rivals? That’s the IP I’m hoping Hollywood invests in!
PS, I’m putting the trailer here, but don’t watch it if you’re interested in seeing Drive-Away Dolls, it spoils some of the fun.