Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Drive-Away Dolls Blu-ray Movie Review

Love is a sleigh ride to hell.

Reviewed by Justin Dekker April 24, 2024

Ethan Cohen and Tricia Cooke's 'Drive-Away Dolls' arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Universal. This road movie twenty years in the making stars Margaret Qualley ('Once Upon a Time in Hollywood') and Geraldine Viswanathan ('Miracle Workers", 'Blockers'), and sees the duo embark on a road trip to Tallahassee only to unwittingly run afoul of a group of quirky and bungling criminals. The accompanying special features are unfortunately light, but a slipcover, DVD, and Digital Code are included.

Tricia Cooke and Ethan Cohen have worked together on a number of films in the past, typically with Cooke serving as the editor. The films, The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou, and The Man Who Wasn't There, stand as some of the very best in Cohen's oeuvre. For the first time, though, Cooke steps out of the editing room and works with Cohen to craft a rather unusual road movie. Featuring a good deal of Cohen's clever dialogue, off-beat characters, and unique locations, Cooke's idea for a light-hearted lesbian-focused film has been germinating for nigh on twenty years, and has thankfully finally made it to the screen.

Jamie (Margaret Qualley) is not a great girlfriend. She's in the middle of an amorous liaison with another woman when her booking officer girlfriend Sukie (Beanie Feldstein, Booksmart, How to Build a Girl) phones and the orgasmic sounds in the background betray her infidelity. A contentious and emotional break-up soon follows. Her friend, Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan, 'Miracle Workers", 'Blockers'), who is reserved, uptight, and emotionally unavailable, is leaving Philadelphia to visit her aunt in Tallahassee when Jamie has the idea to get there by doing what is termed a drive-away - essentially a free one-way rental by delivering a car to its destination. In a convenient twist of fate, the local company Jamie and Marian visit has just received a request for a car to be driven to that Florida city, and the pair sign on for the job. After Jamie paints "Love is a sleigh ride to hell" on the trunk of the car (just to cement where her head is at), the pair are on their way. In typical Cohen brothers fashion, though, moments later the pair of nameless goons (Joey Slotnick and C.J. Wilson) that were supposed to be driving the car (with its concealed illicit cargo) to Tallahassee arrive, discover the mistake, and then set off in pursuit of the women and the vehicle.

What follows is an interesting and often hilarious examination of the relationships between the members of the two mismatched tandems. Jamie is committed to getting her friend Marian to loosen up. She sees her staid personality, social awkwardness, and conservative manner of dress as significant barriers to her enjoying life and is focused on getting her to hook up with someone, anyone they meet at the various bars and parties they attend on their way to Tallahassee. Concurrently, Marian sees Jamie's promiscuity and unwillingness to commit to a stable monogamous relationship as obstacles to her happiness and confronts her about behavior she finds unacceptable. In the other southbound vehicle, Slotnick's Goon plys his trade with a loquacious gregariousness, preferring to coax and cajole needed information from people he meets on the women's trail. Wilson's Goon, meanwhile, is direct, prickly, and quickly reports to physical violence to achieve his ends. Each thinks the other is wrong with his approach and is quick to point out their own successes and the other's failures. As the film progresses, the viewer becomes aware that the pair who ultimately succeeds will be the duo whose members can both undergo some degree of growth and change.

Sexuality is relatively front and center in Drive-Away Dolls. There's no need to wonder if the film's female leads are lesbians, with no nuanced or subtle dialogue to decipher or clues to uncover. It's very clearly established what their orientation is inside of the film's first fifteen minutes. Consistent with her brash and brazen behavior throughout the film, it's not out of character to learn that one of Jamie's earliest sexual encounters occurred in high school when she seduced her female guidance counselor. Marian's sexual awakening is handled quite innocently and chastely in flashbacks of her as a young girl spying on an uninhibited female neighbor swimming and sunbathing in the nude. As Jamie and Marian travel to Tallahassee, the pair stop at several lesbian bars and have encounters that provide a look inside of their lives that is perhaps foreign to many viewers. However, time and time again, when the film feels as if it's about to cross over into more purely exploitive territory, Cohen and Cooke exercise restraint and pull back to retain the film's focus and tenor. In most instances with regard to sexual content, Drive-Away Dolls would rather typically tell and not show. It's to the film's benefit not to cross that line, as the startlingly frank, sometimes graphic, and frequent sexual discussions Jamie and Marian have are critical to understanding their characters and charting any growth the two women may be experiencing. It's also oddly refreshing to witness two female characters converse and behave in a manner that is almost exclusively reserved for men.

Both Pedro Pascal and Matt Damon's names appear on the slipcover, but viewers are advised not to get their hopes up, as each shows up in cameo roles that bookend the film. Pascal appears as a nervous man in a seedy bar in Drive-Away Dolls's opening scene. He's clearly got a briefcase full of something that he's looking to move but his contact is a no-show. As he leaves the bar, rather comedically his physical skills are a far cry from the prowess and capabilities he often displays in his other roles. Damon's appearance is reserved for the film's closing moments. He's a congressman looking to preserve his conservative southern Republican reputation. As with Pascal, he may not have much screen time, but he does manage to generate several laughs. As the credits roll, though, stick around for one last laugh at name of the character played by Pedro Pascal. And, of course, the person to whom the film is dedicated is wholly appropriate.

Drive-Away Dolls Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Graced with a MPEG-4 AVC 1080p transfer, Drive-Away Dolls looks very good. Director of Photography Ari Wegner (The Power of the Dog, The Wonder) shot Drive-Away Dolls digitally in 4K with an Arri Alexa 35 providing a sharp and highly detailed image with an often oversaturated and vibrant color palette. The first bar visited, "Sugar 'n' Spice" is bathed in a rich purple while the last bar, the "She Shed" is covered in greens, blues, and magentas that create a party-like, otherworldly atmosphere. White's are bright, especially as seen in the waiter's shirt in the scenes with Pedro Pascal. Clothing presents with excellent textural and fibrous qualities. Woods, as showcased in the paneling in the pizza restaurant and the basement where the soccer team is hosting their party is rich and warm. Skin tones look healthy and realistic save for those scenes set in the aforementioned bars where the stylized lighting impacts virtually everything. The only instances of damage or defect exist exclusively in the psychedelically animated scenes which are inserted for a number of reasons, often to replace sexual content and feature an intentionally aged look complete with evidence of damage and wear. It's a healthy and filmic transfer.

Drive-Away Dolls Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Drive-Away Dolls has an English Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio track that is quite robust and typically front-focused. Dialogue is clear and centrally located as is appropriate, though directionality is excellent when the moments arise. Music plays a large part in the film and typically lives in the fronts as well and is rendered with great fidelity and provides an opportunity for the subwoofer to stretch its legs. Sound effects are realistic, with physical blows landing with convincing heft and squishy realism. Instances for immersion are unfortunately limited and are mostly confined to the psychedelic animated sequences, but even then it's more subtle than bombastic. While the track is doubtlessly capable of more, what it does it does well and is in keeping with the setting and feel of the film. English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles are available.

Drive-Away Dolls Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The special features found on the Drive-Away Dolls Blu-ray clock in at under eight minutes. A commentary track would have been greatly appreciated, but unfortunately, one isn't included here.

• The Drive-Away Gang (3.11) - Trica Cooke and Ethan Cohen and the three female leads from the film talk at a very high- level about the project and shooting with Matt Damon for one day.

• 'Drive-Away Dolls': and Ethan and Tricia Project (3.27) - Cooke discusses finding the title for the film first and then working with Cohen to craft a film. As a queer artist, Cooke discusses wanting to make the film for twenty years but feeling that the time was finally right.

• Road Trip Essentials (0.57) - In under a minute, stars Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan list a few items from the film critical to any road trip.

Drive-Away Dolls Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A very unique road movie, Drive-Away Dolls features magnetic performances from Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan who effectively carry a film that stands up to repeat viewing. Focused on two lesbian characters on an unexpected journey of growth and discovery, it is crackling with energy, loaded with absurd dialogue and oddball characters, and keeps its foot on the gas for the entirety of the film's runtime. Technical specifications are strong although the included special features are woefully light. Raunchy, funny, and touching, Drive-Away Dolls may not possess leads with sufficient name recognition to propel the film to the top of viewers' watch lists like True Grit, No Country for Old Men, or O Brother, Where Art Thou? did, but skipping it or sleeping on it is not advised. Ethan Cohen and Tricia Cooke's Drive-Away Dolls comes Recommended