The Coen brothers’ films always seem to flirt with pastiche without actually going the distance, so it’s interesting to watch Ethan Coen, working with his partner and editor, Tricia Cooke, rather than Joel, go deep into not just one genre but several. Drive-Away Dolls is a comic put-on of the kind of outrageous noir-adjacent B-thrillers that were ubiquitous in the 70s, filled with ridiculously conceived characters and situations that tested even the most game audience’s capacity for suspending disbelief. On the other hand, it’s a lesbian rom-com, which may not sound like a genre but, in Coen and Cooke’s hands, it practically convinces you that you’ve sat through this kind of thing before. 

As in all proper rom-coms the protagonists are opposites: Horny, up-for-anything Jamie (Margaret Qualley), a waitress with a drawl as big as her native state of Texas; and prim office factotum Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan), who speaks in complete sentences, reads Henry James, worked for Ralph Nader’s presidential campaign (the movie takes place around the turn of the millennium), and whose sexual experience seems limited to one monogamous relationship that happened some time ago. Marian plans to rent a car to visit a relative in Florida, and Jamie, who means to skip town (in this case Philadelphia) in order to avoid the wrath of her police officer lover (Beanie Feldstein) after Jamie cheats on her big time, tags along, much to Marian’s annoyance. They pick up a clunker from a disreputable car rental agency managed by the most enervated customer rep (Bill Camp) you’d ever want to meet, and unknowingly end up in the possession of a mysterious attache case that was supposed to be delivered to Florida by a pair of knuckleheaded hoodlums (Joey Slotnick, C.J. Wilson). So while Marian and Jamie take a leisurely road trip that, thanks to Jamie’s insatiable appetites, turns into a kind of Sapphic Green Book tour, they are being pursued by the hapless goons at the express order of their ruthless boss (Colman Domingo), and in true Coen style the bad guys prove to be out of their league when it comes to sleuthing or even making coherent conversation. Though cartoon violence ensues, the two women never seem to be in danger only because their somewhat carefree attitude precludes the concept that they could ever be in danger, and when everything comes together all they have to do is stand back and let their nemeses literally shoot themselves in the feet. 

Coen and Cooke don’t try to make any of this meaningful, but they lend the movie a distinct style that makes an impression, even if the resolution of the mystery is even stupider than the kinds of denouement that characterized the 70s crime capers the movie pokes fun at. I’m assuming that stupid was the operative word during the production, because everyone is in on the joke, especially the actors, who appear to be having much more fun than I was, though I did laugh quite a bit. With any other director, I might find that a problem, but Ethan Coen has always seemed smarter than me, so I give him the benefit of the doubt. 

Opens June 7 in Tokyo at Toho Cinemas Nihonbashi (050-6868-5060), Toho Cinemas Chanter Hibiya (050-6868-5001), Toho Cinemas Shinjuku (050-6868-5063), Shibuya Cine Quinto (03-3477-5905).

Drive-Away Dolls home page in Japanese

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