Drive-Away Dolls is a Coen Brother – but not a Coen Brothers – film and maybe that’s why it’s not at the top of their game. But it is good… if a bit much and a bit all over the place in a familiar kind of way. It’s not top tier Coen, but it’s still a good time.

The flick is full crime comedy… it stars Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan as best friends who take a drive-away car to Tallahassee (a car that needs to be delivered cross-country as a service). Unfortunately, there’s something in the trunk that a trio of bad guys really want back and now we have a road trip / action comedy.

It’s definitely playing in the funnier side of the Coen Brothers oeuvre. And it’s also a foray into Capital L lesbian cinema… this movie is wall to wall girls soccer teams, dildos, and horniness. It’s over-the-top in a “what are you gonna do about it?” kind of way… I’d say it’s in the same ballpark as Dicks: The Musical only about 80% less over-the-top and 95% less insufferable (it’s also got an alternate title they couldn’t use on the marquee… wait for the credits).

It’s fun and funny in a familiar kind of cloned Coen Brothers way. It was co-written by Ethan Coen and his wife and you can feel a familiar Coen Brothers touch, but it also feels like someone writing Coen Brothers fan fiction. It’s close but not quite their natural touch.

But I laughed and was amused for most of its short runtime. There were some great gags and some unexpected cameos. The “what’s in the trunk?” bit has a very Coen Brothers answer… it reminded me of Burn After Reading in its knowing off-hand absurdity.

The flick is uneven and goofy and over-the-top and maybe a little try-hard. It succeeds more than it fails though, even if I’m a little on the fence about its struggle to be a full-fledged Coen Brother(s) film.

Score: 82