Drive-Away Dolls

Drive-Away Dolls

Company type	Film
Industry	Film industry
Founded	2024
Founder	Ethan Coen, Tricia Cooke
Products	Crime comedy road film
Parent	Focus Features, Universal Pictures, Working Title Films

Drive-Away Dolls (also presented onscreen as Henry James' Drive-Away Dykes) is a 2024 American crime comedy road film helmed by Ethan Coen, who co-wrote the screenplay with his spouse Tricia Cooke. Cooke also took on editing and producing duties alongside Robert Graf and producers Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner from Working Title. This project represents Coen's first narrative feature made independently from his brother Joel, following his solo documentary Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind (2022).

Set during 1999, the narrative features Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan portraying two lesbian best friends embarking on a road trip, only to become embroiled in a criminal plot. The supporting ensemble includes Beanie Feldstein, Colman Domingo, Pedro Pascal, Bill Camp, and Matt Damon. Drive-Away Dolls was released by Focus Features in the United States and internationally through Universal Pictures. It debuted in Australia on February 22, 2024, followed by the U.S. release the next day. The film earned $7.9 million at the box office and garnered a range of critical responses. It serves as a precursor to Honey Don't! (2025), which is part of Coen’s intended "lesbian B-movie trilogy."

Plot

In Philadelphia, 1999, Santos anxiously holds a briefcase inside a bar before the bartender decapitates him. Simultaneously, Jamie and Sukie’s romantic relationship ends due to Jamie’s unfaithfulness. Jamie then joins her friend Marian on a journey to Tallahassee, Florida, inadvertently taking possession of a vehicle already reserved by criminals Arliss, Flint, and Chief, who are engaged in illicit dealings.

Marian prefers to head directly to Tallahassee, but Jamie encourages spontaneous detours and visits to lesbian bars, helping Marian to open up emotionally. Upon crossing into Florida, their car suffers a flat tire, which leads to the discovery of Santos' briefcase and his severed head preserved inside the trunk.

The criminals give chase to Jamie and Marian but are thrown off course by a soccer team that invites the women to a celebration. After checking into a hotel, Jamie convinces Marian to embrace positive sexual experiences. When Arliss, Flint, and Chief arrive in Tallahassee, Jamie utilizes items found in Santos' briefcase: plaster-cast dildos molded from the genitalia of powerful men, including Senator Gary Channel. Marian reacts with shock yet curiosity.

Jamie and Marian are captured by the criminals at a dog racing venue. Chief reveals that Tiffany Plastercaster creates sex toys from molds of prominent figures’ genitalia. Senator Channel fears reputational harm should the dildo be revealed. A violent confrontation among the gang results in Flint killing Arliss and Chief before fleeing; Jamie and Marian manage to escape.

Later at a hotel, Marian expresses interest in Senator Channel’s dildo, inspiring a plan to extort him. Sukie arrives in Tallahassee as a police officer following Jamie’s tip-off. At a lesbian bar, Jamie and Marian exchange the dildo for one million dollars from Channel. When Channel attempts violence, Sukie intervenes by shooting him. Although Channel survives, his reputation is destroyed amid media exposure linking him to criminal activities and his collection of dildos.

The following day, Jamie and Marian discuss relocating to Massachusetts where same-sex marriage is legal. As they depart with Marian's aunt, a bellhop rushes after them carrying a bag containing two plaster casts of Channel’s dildo made earlier by Jamie.

Development and casting

In the early 2000s, Ethan Coen and his wife, Tricia Cooke, initially shared the film idea with their friend Allison Anders. The project was first announced in 2007 under the title Drive-Away Dykes, with Anders attached as director. Early casting choices included Selma Blair, Holly Hunter, Christina Applegate, and Chloë Sevigny. By April 2022, Coen was confirmed to helm an untitled "lesbian road trip" film, produced by Coen, Cooke, Robert Graf, alongside Working Title executives Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner. By August 2022, leads Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan were cast, with Beanie Feldstein joining the ensemble in September. In April 2023, the title Drive-Away Dolls was revealed, along with new cast members including Pedro Pascal, Colman Domingo, Bill Camp, and Matt Damon. The film's negative pickup cost was reported at $20 million.

This production represents Coen’s first solo narrative directing effort (excluding the 2022 documentary Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind) and his first narrative feature since The Ballad of Buster Scruggs released in 2018. Coen took a break from filmmaking due to frustrations with the industry’s challenges and aging, citing complications during recent productions.

The COVID-19 pandemic offered Coen and Cooke an opportunity to further develop the screenplay. Coen acknowledges Cooke’s significant role in co-directing, though her involvement was limited by her lack of membership in the Directors Guild of America.

Coen characterizes the tone of Drive-Away Dolls as influenced by early 1970s exploitation romance films that he admired during his teenage years. Cooke points to inspirations such as Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, Bad Girls Go to Hell, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Go Fish, But I'm a Cheerleader, and works by John Waters.

The character Tiffany Plastercaster, portrayed by Miley Cyrus, is inspired by the real-life artist Cynthia Plaster Caster.

Filming

Principal photography commenced in August 2022 in Pittsburgh, with cinematography led by Ari Wegner. Filming continued through October 2022 in locations including Hopewell Township, Beaver County, Pennsylvania and Lawrence in Washington County, Pennsylvania.

Release

Originally planned for a September 22, 2023 release date, Drive-Away Dolls experienced a delay caused by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. The film debuted in Australia on February 22, 2024, followed by its U.S. release via Focus Features on February 23. The United Kingdom release occurred on March 15, 2024.

Box office

In North America, Drive-Away Dolls opened alongside titles such as Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – To the Hashira Training and Ordinary Angels. Industry forecasts estimated an opening weekend gross near $4 million across 2,261 theaters. The film ultimately earned $2.4 million domestically during its debut weekend, ranking eighth at the box office.

Critical response

Template:RT prose Template:Metacritic film prose Audience feedback collected by CinemaScore assigned the movie a "C" grade, while PostTrak noted a 66% positive response rate.

Barry Hertz from The Globe and Mail criticized the film for teetering "on a fine line between charming absurdity and cringe-worthy moments," which limited viewer engagement.

In contrast, Tomris Laffly of RogerEbert.com gave it three and a half stars out of four. She highlighted that despite some predictability and inevitable comparisons to earlier crime comedies, the film delivers a nostalgic experience filled with genuine on-screen enjoyment.

External links

• Official site
• IMDb page