Cook review: ‘Drive-Away Dolls’ is trippy fun

It’s better than average, but probably would have been better had both Coen brothers been involved.

“Drive-Away Dolls” is fun. But it’s more like an appetizer than a main course – it doesn’t have the “Oh, wow!” cleverness of “The Big Lebowski” or “Inside Llewyn Davis.” It does include some enjoyable characters, some snappy dialogue, and a few solid scenes that make it worth a look.

‘Drive-Away Dolls’ (IMDb)

The year is 1999. Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan, “The Broken Hearts Gallery”) and Jamie (Margaret Qualley, “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood”) are best friends who are about to take off on a road trip. Jamie’s girlfriend Sukie (Beanie Feldstein, “Booksmart”) has broken up with her because Jamie has been cheating on her.

Jamie longs for, uh, the prospect of more intimate relationships, while the shy, more intellectual Marin would rather stay at home and read Henry James.

They end up in a car on their way to Tallahassee. They don’t know that  In the car is briefcase that a group of criminals wants to get their hands on.

This is a road trip movie, a sex comedy and a romantic comedy all rolled into one. Ethan Coen, who wrote and directed, never takes anything seriously in this wild, grownups-only adventure.

Speaking of grownups: There is more sex here than you might see in the average R-rated film, so the squeamish should take note. It almost has the feel of a drive-in movie from the 1970s.

Several stars, including Pedro Pascal, Miley Cyrus and Matt Damon, have small roles.

It’s worth a drive to see this enjoyable, if not memorable, movie that’s trippy in more ways than one.

2 ½ stars

Rated: R for violence, gore, foul language and sexual situations.

Running time: 87 minutes.

At The Last Picture House and Cinemark, Davenport, and Palms 10, Muscatine.

Watch the trailer here.

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