The legendary sibling directing duo of Joel and Ethan Coen went their separate directorial ways after the 2018 film The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, and while there’s talk they’re going to be reuniting to make a horror movie, in the meantime we’ve gotten Joel’s first solo directing effort with The Tragedy of Macbeth, and we’ll be seeing Ethan’s first solo directing effort when Focus Features brings the road trip comedy caper Drive Away Dolls to theatres on February 23rd. Some critics have already had a chance to see the movie, and with two weeks to go until its wide release, the first reactions have started showing up online. We have gathered some of them together below.
First, we have a reaction from JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray:
The majority of the reactions available now lean toward the positive, with viewers having fun laughing along with this fast paced, silly movie:
Of course, no film is for absolutely everyone, so here’s a negative reaction as well:
Scripted by Ethan Coen and his wife Tricia Cooke, Drive Away Dolls follows Jamie, an uninhibited free spirit bemoaning yet another breakup with a girlfriend, and her demure friend Marian, who desperately needs to loosen up. In search of a fresh start, the two embark on an impromptu road trip to Tallahassee, but things quickly go awry when they cross paths with a group of inept criminals along the way.
Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan star as Jamie and Marian. They’re joined in the cast by Beanie Feldstein, Colman Domingo, Pedro Pascal, Bill Camp, and Matt Damon.
Coen and Cooke produced the film with Robert Graf, Tim Bevan, and Eric Fellner.
Drive Away Dolls was first announced in 2007, at which time Allison Anders (Gas Food Lodging) was going to be directing the film from Coen and Cooke’s script. Selma Blair, Holly Hunter, Christina Applegate, and Chloë Sevigny were all considered for the lead roles… but the film never made it into production until Coen decided to take the helm in 2022.
What do you think of the first reactions to Drive Away Dolls? Are you looking forward to seeing this movie? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Whether they’re alone, working as a team, or not even directing the movie, I see anything the Coen brothers are involved with, so I will definitely be watching Drive Away Dolls.