My quick rating – 5.4/10. Drive-Away Dolls is one of those movies that sneaks up on you, not because it’s profound, but because it has that strange, Coen-adjacent charm. The characters are just odd enough, the timing is just off enough, and the plot is just chaotic enough to keep you watching even when the movie keeps tripping over its own shoelaces.
I ended up watching this because Matt Damon mentioned it during his Colbert interview, and honestly, that was enough of a push. The guy could sell me on a documentary about oatmeal if he tried hard enough. The good news? Damon’s cameo here is actually one of the film’s more amusing surprises, and the movie itself has enough personality to justify the detour.
The heart of the film lies with Jamie (Margaret Qualley) and Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan), two women who couldn’t be more different if you cast them from separate cinematic universes. Jamie is a chaotic bisexual hurricane, breezing from breakup to breakdown with “I swear I’m fine” energy. Marian is the kind of soft-spoken, tightly wound introvert who breaks into a mild sweat just watching Jamie exist. Their odd-couple chemistry is legitimately great. Qualley gives Jamie that reckless, flirty spark she does so well, and Viswanathan plays the reluctant partner-in-crime with perfect comedic exasperation.
Whether they’re fumbling through roadside disasters, outrunning cartoonishly incompetent crooks, or simply trying to borrow a car without accidentally getting wrapped up in a criminal conspiracy, their dynamic carries most of the humor. The comedic timing between them is sharp, and the movie shines brightest when it’s simply letting these two bounce off each other.
But where Drive-Away Dolls stumbles is in its handling of sexuality and intimacy. It’s not that the LGBTQ+ elements shouldn’t be there – they absolutely should – it’s that the film tries a little too hard to make sexuality part of the punchline instead of simply part of the characters’ lives. Instead of feeling organic, some of these moments come off like the script clearing its throat and going, “See? We’re being edgy and modern!” when it really didn’t need to. The movie already has personality. It already has charm. Nothing had to dial itself up to get my attention.
Fortunately, the movie doesn’t derail itself entirely. It stays playful and breezy, delivering a series of amusing detours, mistaken identities, and silly criminal mishaps that feel right at home in a dusty road-trip comedy. The villains are entertainingly dumb, the pacing is brisk, and the film hits enough comedic beats to keep you smiling even when it tries too hard to be “something more.”
In the end, it’s a light, quirky romp with a talented cast doing fun character work. It may not fully stick the landing, and it definitely fumbles its attempt at thematic depth, but it still manages to be an enjoyable, low-stakes ride. If you’re in the mood for something colorful and a bit off-kilter, with just enough weirdness to give it flavor, Drive-Away Dolls is worth tossing on for the journey alone.
