Movie Review – Drive-Away Dolls

Drive Away Dolls feels like a lesbian version of Pulp Fiction that was written by Wes Anderson. I think that’s a good thing, but maybe it’s a little too much of a good thing.

Since my first priority while watching a movie is to get good Peetimes I always make sure I know how long the movie is so that I can properly judge when I should find a last Peetime. I knew going in that the runtime of this movie was only 84 minutes, which would be shorter given the end credits. About half way through the movie I was really wondering how they were going to wrap things up in a satisfactory way without leaving the audience feeling let down. I was surprised to find out that they managed it really well. The last half of the movie was considerably better than the first half.

The dialog was fun and snappy. The thing that makes this movie feel most like a Wes Anderson film is that every character, no matter how small, feels like they are the main character in their particular scene. Now I realize that Ethan Coen is the co-director which says a lot. I think Wes Anderson might have gotten this particular skill from the Coen brothers—Ethan is the younger of the Coen brothers. What is unmistakable about this movie is that it is skillfully crafted. Everything from the dialog to the editing is done with purpose. Ohhh, and the other co-director is Tricia Cooke, Ethan’s wife.

The cameo appearances increase the enjoyment of this movie tremendously. The one wish I would have is that the two guys chasing after the girls would have been more enjoyable if they had been A-listers themselves. Not that the two goons, I mean actors, Joey Slotnick and C.J. Wilson weren’t adequate for the role, but it would have been more fun to see two known actors in those roles having fun with it. Those two characters, more than any of the others, give the movie a Pulp Fiction vibe. At least that’s how I see it.

IMDb lists this movie as an action, comedy, thriller. I can buy the latter two, but action movie this is not. Unless a girl grinding on another girl’s face counts as an action scene. Those scenes definitely count as some-kinda scene, but not action.

I’m curious how the lesbian community will react to this movie since a husband-wife team wrote and directed it and I’m pretty sure neither of them are lesbians. It certainly seemed to portray the lesbian roles sympathetically, but I’m certainly not an expert witness in these matters.

Grade: B+

About The Peetimes: Movies like this, that quickly jump from scene to scene, are hard to find Peetimes for. Plus, this is a short and highly compressed movie with a lot of dialog. I managed to find two good Peetimes. The first one is best. The second one has a non-graphic sex scene. I only chose it because it was a long scene with little dialog, unlike the rest of the movie.

There are extra scenes during, or after, the end credits of Drive-Away Dolls.

Rated:	(R) Language | Full Nudity | Crude Sexual Content | Some Violent Content
Genres:	Action, Comedy, Thriller
Starring:	Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan, Beanie Feldstein
Director:	Ethan Coen
Writer(s):	Ethan Coen, Tricia Cooke
Language:	English
Country:	United Kingdom, United States

Plot
Jamie regrets her breakup with her girlfriend, while Marian needs to relax. In search of a fresh start, they embark on an unexpected road trip to Tallahassee, but things quickly go awry when they cross paths with a group of inept …