Drive-Away Dolls Footage Reaction: Ethan Coen's Solo Debut Is A Road Trip Crime Comedy [CinemaCon 2023]
Amid the big-name blockbusters being showcased at CinemaCon, there's a host of other exciting projects. /Film's Ben Pearson is at the convention in Vegas, where he's been attending exclusive screenings and footage presentations. And the latest of those is the upcoming "Drive Away Dolls," which marks Ethan Coen's first time as solo director on a project (unless you count his 2022 documentary "Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind"), having helmed all his previous movies alongside his brother. Joel Coen has already ventured out on his own, directing the surreal masterpiece that was 2021's "The Tragedy of Macbeth," Now, it's Ethan's turn, and the movie is shaping up to be a top awards contender.
Co-written and co-produced by his wife Tricia Cooke, Ethan Coen's crime comedy, according to the official synopsis, follows an "uninhibited free spirit" by the name of Jamie, who ventures out on a road trip with her uptight friend Marian. The pair will be portrayed by Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan. As the friend duo travel to Tallahassee, they encounter a "group of inept criminals" and the carefree nature of the trip quickly disintegrates.
Alongside Qualley and Viswanathan, the cast also includes Beanie Feldstein, Matt Damon, Colman Domingo, Pedro Pascal, and Bill Camp, making for a stellar cast that's sure to help the film's awards chances — not that Ethan Coen necessarily needed the help. Thanks to Focus Features' CinemaCon presentation, we've now had our first glimpse at footage from "Drive Away Dolls," and it's looking like the director has done just fine without his brother.
Drive Away Dolls might just be a runaway success
From the "Drive-Away Dolls" footage screened at CinemaCon by distributor Focus Features, Ethan Coen hasn't missed a beat even without his brother by his side — the film looks like classic Coens (or Coen, rather).
The footage shows off the film's impressive ensemble. Pedro Pascal's character, a spy, is carrying an enigmatic case as spies are wont to do. Unfortunately, someone is hunting him, so he ditches the case. It winds up in the trunk of a rental car owned by Bill Camp's character. He, in turn, rents it to Jamie and Marian (Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan), two friends planning a road trip to Tallahassee. They soon have pursuers on their tail, so they check the case. We don't see what's in it, but the girls do and their eyes go wide.
Other faces who show up include Beanie Feldstein and Matt Damon. When the latter meets the two girls in a restaurant, he asks who they are. The answer? "Democrats."
The film's story reminds me a lot of the Coens' "No Country For Old Men" — the protagonist finds something they shouldn't and soon has pursuers on their tale. However, tonally, it sounds like quite a different beast from the stark bleakness of "No Country." /Film's Ben Pearson (in attendance at CinemaCon) offered comparisons to "Fargo" and "Raising Arizona," and said the footage has the quirky, rhythmic dialogue we expect and love from the Coen Brothers (or, again, in this case, Coen Brother).
"Drive-Away Dolls" is set to be released on September 22, 2023.