Drive-Away Dolls, also known on-screen 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 wife, Tricia Cooke, who also took on the role of editor.
The film was produced by Coen alongside Robert Graf and Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner from Working Title.
This project marks Coen’s first narrative feature without his brother Joel and is his second solo directorial effort following the documentary Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind, released in 2022.
Set against the backdrop of 1999, the film features Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan as two lesbian best friends embarking on a road trip that leads them into a web of criminal activity.
The cast also includes notable actors such as Beanie Feldstein, Colman Domingo, Pedro Pascal, Bill Camp, and Matt Damon.
Drive-Away Dolls premiered in Australia on February 22, 2024, followed by its release in the United States by Focus Features the next day.
The film has garnered mixed reviews from critics, reflecting a range of opinions on its execution and themes.
Production
In a dimly lit bar in Philadelphia during the year 1999, a man named Santos sits anxiously in a booth, his fingers tightly gripping a briefcase that seems to hold the weight of his worries.
Suddenly, he bolts from the establishment, his urgency palpable, but he is swiftly pursued by the bartender, who harbors sinister intentions.
In a dark alleyway, the bartender confronts Santos, leading to a brutal act of violence as he murders and decapitates him, leaving the scene shrouded in mystery and bloodshed.
Meanwhile, in another part of the city, Jamie and Sukie, once deeply in love, find their relationship unraveling due to Jamie’s betrayal.
After Sukie, heartbroken and angry, expels Jamie from their shared apartment, Jamie learns that her friend Marian is planning a trip to Tallahassee, Florida.
Seizing the opportunity to escape her troubles, Jamie decides to accompany Marian.
They make their way to a drive-away car service, where clients can arrange for one-way transportation of vehicles.
However, a mix-up occurs, and they inadvertently take a car that has already been reserved for another client heading to Tallahassee.
Shortly thereafter, a trio of criminals—Arliss, Flint, and Chief—arrives at the shop to collect the very vehicle that Jamie and Marian have mistakenly taken, unaware that it contains illicit cargo tied to their nefarious activities, setting the stage for a collision of lives that will have unforeseen consequences.
Marian is determined to head directly to Tallahassee, but Jamie persistently encourages her to embrace spontaneity by taking detours and exploring lesbian bars for casual encounters along their journey.
While Marian would rather immerse herself in the pages of Henry James’ novel, The Europeans, she gradually begins to emerge from her reserved demeanor, influenced by Jamie’s playful nudging.
Upon their arrival in Florida, however, their plans take an unexpected turn when they experience a flat tire. As they open the trunk to assess the situation, they stumble upon a briefcase belonging to Santos, along with a basket containing his preserved head.
Meanwhile, Arliss and Flint are on their trail, misled by a soccer team that had invited the duo to a party.
When Jamie and Marian check into a hotel using Jamie’s credit card, their location is inadvertently revealed to the mob. Jamie, believing that a positive sexual experience will enhance Marian’s enjoyment of life,
persuades her to engage in intimacy, leading to a moment of climax for Marian. The following morning, the two share a passionate encounter in the shower, during which Marian expresses her desire to make love, a wish they fulfill.
As Arliss, Flint, and Chief arrive in Tallahassee, Jamie decides to explore the contents of Santos’ briefcase, which reveals an assortment of dildos crafted from plaster casts of men’s erect penises.
Although Marian is taken aback by this discovery, Jamie insists that she seeks the same sexual release that Marian experienced the previous night.
Just as Jamie reaches her climax, Arliss and Flint burst into their room, seizing Santos’ head and the briefcase while abducting the women at gunpoint.
Bound and gagged in a backroom of a dog racing track, they await Chief’s arrival, who explains that the sex toys are modeled after the genitals of influential public figures, including one cast from Senator Gary Channel’s penis.
Channel is anxious about the potential damage to his reputation if the existence of the dildo, which Jamie had inadvertently left behind in the hotel room, becomes public knowledge.
Following a heated argument among the gangsters, Flint resorts to violence, shooting the other two and fleeing the scene.
Seizing the opportunity, Jamie and Marian manage to escape and plot to blackmail Channel, leveraging the scandal to their advantage.
The following day, Jamie and Marian convene with Marian’s aunt at their hotel, where the atmosphere is filled with a mix of excitement and anticipation.
During their conversation, Jamie nonchalantly reveals their plans to travel to Massachusetts, a state known for its progressive stance on same-sex marriage, which has recently become legal.
As they prepare to leave, the trio is interrupted by a bellhop who rushes after them, holding a forgotten bag.
This bag, it turns out, contains two plaster casts that Jamie had created, intricately modeled after a dildo resembling Channel’s penis, adding an unexpected layer of humor and intrigue to their departure.
Ethan Coen and his spouse, Tricia Cooke, initially shared their concept for a film with their friend Allison Anders during a Christmas holiday in San Francisco in the early 2000s. The project was officially announced in January 2007 under the working title Drive-Away Dykes, with Anders set to direct.
Throughout the pre-production phase, several notable actresses, including Selma Blair, Holly Hunter, Christina Applegate, and Chloë Sevigny, were linked to the film at different times.
April 2022, it was reported that Coen would take on the directorial role, and the film was rebranded as an untitled “lesbian road trip project.
The production team included Coen, Cooke, Robert Graf, along with Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner from Working Title.
In August 2022, the cast expanded to include Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan, followed by Beanie Feldstein’s addition in September.
By April 2023, the film was officially titled Drive-Away Dolls, with Pedro Pascal, Colman Domingo, Bill Camp, and Matt Damon joining the ensemble. The film was produced with a negative pickup cost of $20 million.
