‘Drive Away Dolls’ (2024): The Burden of Great Expectations.

Lesbians, Crime, and Comedy. What’s not to love?

As a long-standing fan of the Coen Brothers’ directorial works and a raging bisexual, I was thrilled when I saw the trailer for this movie. I was expecting a queer twist on a blend of Burn After Reading and Fargo with comically incompetent criminals, a healthy dose of violence, and a classic suitcase chase. I thought nothing of the fact that only one of the Coen brothers (Ethan) was directing the film and went into the cinema with excitement and great expectations.

Jamie (Margaret Qualley) and Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan).

The adventure begins in Philadelphia, 1999, and follows friends Jamie (Margaret Qualley) and Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan) as they set out on a road trip together but get swept up in clumsy criminal activity when they find a mysterious suitcase in their rental car. It transpires that a group of regular tough guys is after the same suitcase and are willing to beat the crap out of anyone who gets in the way, so the two women hit the road to avoid being tracked down. Given the iconic films in the Coen brothers’ repertoire, ranging from the dark No Country For Old Men to the hilarious The Big Lebowski, I was expecting witty comedy and tension. I had already forgotten: this was not a Coen brothers film.

Imagine my surprise when the film's first action sequence played out like a corny retro horror with abrasive sound effects, heavily tilted camera angles, melodramatic zooms, and Pedro Pascal being stabbed in the neck with a corkscrew. Immediately after this, the film cuts to two women having loud, unglamorous sex, simultaneously cutting what little tension had previously been present. As the film progressed, I realised that this was not the movie I thought it would be. It wasn’t a film about darkly comedic violence or clever dialogue, but sex between women.

Jamie (Margaret Qualley).

Now, this film does a brilliant job of de-fetishizing lesbian sex. We live in a world where lesbian sex is consumed as entertainment by the very same people who would seek to condemn it, namely straight men. Lesbian porn remains one of the most searched topics on porn sites across the world, with men being the primary consumers of said media.

When we see women interacting sexually on the big screen, it is often catering to the male gaze, trying its best to look pretty and smooth to maintain the male fantasy. Drive Away Dolls throws that out the window, depicting sex between women in a refreshingly realistic and brilliantly unflattering manner. It’s sweaty, awkward, fun, and grounded. The most emotionally moving scene of the film was a sex scene between the two leads that focused only above the shoulders- no soundtrack, no words, no porn-esque posing or moaning, just two women enjoying each other’s bodies in a sweet, quiet moment. A beautiful testament to the kind of sex that brings warm, simple intimacy.

These well-crafted, realistic depictions of lesbian sex are likely due to Tricia Cooke, Ethan Coen’s wife and co-writer of the screenplay, being able to draw from her own experiences as a lesbian. The film gives a middle finger to the patriarchy, with the contents of the suitcase revealed to be five plaster-cast dildos of some of the most influential men in America, including the senator. “We didn’t deserve this… this commodification,” the Senator (Matt Damon) whimpers as he tries to negotiate back his own plaster-cast penis, a fun flipping of the social narrative.

Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan), Jamie (Margaret Qualley), and (Beanie Feldstein).

That being said, with all the focus on normalising lesbian sex on screen, there isn’t much room for focus on the plot. The actors all deliver stellar performances, Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan as charming leads and amusing opposites, Beanie Feldstein commanding all of her scenes with strong comedic presence, and Joey Slotnick and C.J. Wilson in the classic role of the “goons”.

The writing that made the classic Coen films so gripping and entertaining, however, was just not there. The plot had a structure that felt as though pieces were missing; there were attempts at witty bickering that felt stilted and forced and jokes that didn’t quite land. The film definitely has its funny moments, like Margaret Qualley’s smug grin as the two leads are faced with each other in a “make-out circle” or the “goons” trying to get information out of a man with an accent so thick it is unintelligible. These moments are funny because they are not trying too hard, as opposed to the scene where a small dog humps one of the “goons”, which sadly got one of the larger laughs in the cinema.

I believe the film would have been more successfully entertaining had it relied less on trying to recreate the feel of the Coens’ previous films and leaned more into its own style. It seemed to be trying to straddle the line between a reimagination of goofy retro movies and mimicking some of the successful traits of the Coen Brothers’ films. It was all topped off with a ‘happy ending’ conclusion that didn’t feel earned- the film’s two leads getting married after only having slept together twice and having very little romantic chemistry. The gag about gay marriage was well-intentioned, but the two leads had very little time to develop a romance outside the context of sex. It’s also 2024, and movies don’t have to end in marriage to be deemed “happy” anymore. Audiences have evolved with the times, and we expect our films to do the same.

Did I mention the suitcase of dildos?

Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan) and Jamie (Margaret Qualley).

Keeping with the theme, I found my experience with Drive Away Dolls to be a lot like bad cunnilingus. You have high expectations when things are kicking off, but as time goes on, whilst the effort might be there, you realise it’s just not clicking. You wait patiently for that much-needed high, and occasionally, there’s a glimpse of potential, but ultimately, there’s not much of a resolution, and you find yourself unsatisfied. If you’re wanting another thrilling Coen Brothers’ film, maybe revisit some of the classics, but if you’re looking for a zany ride filled with sapphic sex, women enjoying their sexuality and autonomy, Beanie Feldstein punching people, and Miley Cyrus, then this one’s for you.

Research

Armitstead, C. (2024, March 03). ‘Women have libidos too!’: Ethan Coen and wife Tricia Cooke on their raunchy new lesbian road movie. Interview with Ethan Coen and Tricia Coen. Interviewed by Claire Armitstead for The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/mar/03/ethan-coen-wife-tricia-cooke-drive-away-dolls-lesbian-road-movie-interview

Gangavkar, R. (2020). The Fetishisation Of Lesbian Relationships In Cinema And Pop Culture. Feminism in India. Retrieved April 04, 2024, from https://feminisminindia.com/2020/11/16/lesbian-relationships-male-gaze-cinema-pop-culture/

Morterud, A. (2022). The Male Gaze In Modern Cinema: Blue Is The Warmest Color. Sexual Health Alliance. Retrieved April 04, 2024, from https://sexualhealthalliance.com/nymphomedia-blog/the-male-gaze-in-modern-cinema

Pornhub. (2023). 2023 Year in Review. Pornhub Insights. https://www.pornhub.com/insights/2023-year-in-review

Verilybitchie. (2022, Nov 26). The Lesbian Gaze [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LcV2HmZUfY

Watson, S. (n.d). Responsibility in LBGT filmmaking: lesbians through the male gaze. Sludge. Retrieved April 04, 2024, from https://www.sludge.online/responsibility-in-lbgt-filmmaking-lesbians-through-the-male-gaze