The Real Life Inspiration Behind Miley Cyrus' Drive-Away Dolls Character
This article contains spoilers for "Drive-Away Dolls."
When the trailer for Tricia Cooke and Ethan Coen's "Drive-Away Dolls" (read our review here) was first released, folks quickly caught a blink-and-you'll-miss-her appearance of a young hippie woman covered in psychedelic filters played by actress and Grammy award-winning musician, Miley Cyrus. "Drive-Away Dolls" takes place in 1999, so what the hell is up with this lava lamp in the summer of love-looking character? Cyrus' character pops up a few times throughout the film, leading up to the reveal that republican senator Gary Channell (Matt Damon) knew this mysterious acid-tripper in his younger years, and if the public ever learned of their encounter, it would destroy his conservative political career — alluding to a possible presidential candidacy in the near future. What could Gary Channell have done that's so shocking? The answer is not only the key to Cyrus' character but also solves the mystery of what is in the briefcase found by the film's leads, Jamie (Margaret Qualley) and Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan).
Before Channell was the new face of the Republican party, he was a hippie who in a haze of hallucinogenics let Tiffany Plastercaster (Cyrus) make a mold of his erect penis, thereby creating a shell from which to make sex toys. It would ruin Channell's career if people knew he was once a filthy liberal who engaged in wild sex and psychedelics, but people could also make replicas of his ween and do ... well, whatever they want with it if news got out. Plenty of porn stars willingly allow molds of their intimate areas to be made into dolls or fleshlights knowing full well how buyers are going to use them, but a Republican? OH, THE HORROR!
And the woman behind it all, Tiffany Plastercaster, is an homage to one of the raddest women to ever live — Cynthia Plaster Caster.
'Plaster caster, grab a hold of me faster'
Real name Cynthia Albritton, Cynthia Plaster Caster is a notorious artist and self-described "recovering groupie" famous for making plaster casts of rock star wieners (and later breasts!). Her first celebrity client was Jimi Hendrix, but he was certainly not the last. Others include Wayne Kramer of MC5, Eddie Brigati of The Rascals, Nine Inch Nails' Martin Atkins, and even Ariel Pink, before expanding to women of rock like Suzi Gardner from L7, Peaches, and Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Jessica Everleth directed the 2001 documentary "Plaster Caster" about her, and Albritton has been the subject of multiple songs including "Five Short Minutes" by Jim Croce, "Plaster Caster" by KISS, and "Nanny Nanny Boo Boo" by Le Tigre. Her 1968 plaster cast of Jimi Hendrix's erect penis can now be seen in the Icelandic Phallological Museum, which is a very real museum that I desperately hope to visit someday. The rest of her collection resides with the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction in Indiana. Simply put, Cynthia Plaster Caster is a legend.
Miley Cyrus is a bit of perfect meta-casting, as the rock star herself also runs the Happy Hippie Foundation, a non-profit that advocates for homeless LGBTQIA+ youth. "Well, we asked Miley to do this movie where she takes a plaster cast of a senator's penis and she just said, 'Tell me when to show up,'" Cooke recalled in the film's production notes. "She knew all about Cynthia Plaster Caster, and she completely understood the tone of the movie. We wanted to give Miley music to move to, and she suggested 'Maggot Brain' by Funkadelic for playback on the set. It worked so well we ended up using it in the film."
The sexual artistry of women
"Drive-Away Dolls" is a delightful caper about two young women caught up in the middle of a web of crime by accident, but it's also a sincere exploration of sex and sexuality. Sex toys aren't presented as something to be embarrassed about or hidden away in dresser drawers, to the point where Beanie Feldstein's character Sukie is shown at one point removing a wall-mounted dildo with a power drill. The second scene of the film shows Jamie going down on a woman, there's a scene where women have a makeout party, when Jamie eventually finds the toy based on Senator Channell's member in the briefcase she uses it to masturbate, and Marian later asks Jamie to pleasure her "with the Senator's penis" during shower sex.
"Drive-Away Dolls" is extremely frank about the sexual desires of the characters without winking at the camera. As silly as the film is, the sex scenes are extremely sincere, which has been severely lacking in studio-produced films with lesbian characters. Adding a character based on Cynthia Plaster Caster feels appropriate because she was a groundbreaking pioneer in the expression of women's sexuality. "I don't think there's anything strange or dark about desiring men that are talented, good lookin', frequently witty, and fun to be with on a casual basis," she said in an interview with In Music We Trust about groupie culture. "The groupies were choosing multiple partners just like the guys in bands, it was a double standard."
She may have been straight, but she challenged the public perception of women's sexual urges with her own behavior, something that lesbians do every day by existing in a hetero-patriarchal society. Cynthia Albritton passed away in 2022 but her legacy will live on forever.