'Drive-Away Dolls' is the Goofiest, Horniest Coen Brother Movie Yet

Ethan (but not Joel) Coen directs a wacky road trip sex comedy co-written by his lesbian wife.

Welcome to The #Content Report, a newsletter by Vince Mancini. I’ve been writing about movies, culture, and food since the aughts. Now I’m delivering it straight to you, with none of the autoplay videos, takeover ads, or chumboxes of the ad-ruined internet. Support my work and help me bring back the cool internet by subscribing, sharing, commenting, and keeping it real.

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Greetings, #Content lovers, just a couple quick updates for today:

First, Ethan Coen (half the “Coen Brothers”) has a new movie out. It’s called Drive-Away Dolls, and it’s a lesbian road trip comedy starring Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan, co-written by Ethan’s wife, Tricia Cooke (who is apparently openly lesbian even though they’re still married). I saw this one with Brendan from the Frotcast and we both ultimately enjoyed it even though it’s very dumb and off-puttingly campy at times (I could’ve also done without the Miley Cyrus cameo). The wordplay and sight gags put it over the top though.

I reviewed the whole thing over at GQ.

Based on the fact that Ethan’s first solo directing effort was Drive-Away Dolls, which is almost a live-action Looney Tunes cartoon, and Joel’s only solo effort to date was a black-and-white Shakespeare adaptation (The Tragedy of MacBeth, with Denzel Washington) it feels like just enough material to wonder if Ethan is the goofy, campy Coen Brother, and Joel the serious, cerebral one. Has it always been this way? Impossible to know, obviously, but fun to guess.

Since they’ve always shared credit outside of these two movies, you can make a whole Lennon/McCartney parlor game out of their filmography. The Hudsucker Proxy? Ethan film. Miller’s Crossing? Joel film. A Serious Man? Joel. Burn After Reading? Ethan.

Try it, it’s fun! There are only a couple that don’t fit easily into one of the categories. O Brother Where Art Thou? is a riff on The Odyssey, which sounds like a Joel concept, but the execution feels decidedly Ethan. Barton Fink and Fargo are the other tough ones. I tend to lean more towards the “Ethan” ones, like The Big Lebowski, but my favorite (and possibly my favorite movie of all time) is Inside Llewyn Davis, which feels decidedly Joel. Anyway, have some fun with it.

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Secondly, we have a new episode of Pod Yourself The Wire available on the Patreon.

“Everyone get your prostates checked, and then, look out for Marlo.” -Katrina Davis

One-time Pod Yourself A Gunner, and now two-time Pod Yourself The Wirer, fan favorite, and comedian Katrina Davis returns to talk to Matt and Vince about The Wire season five episode four, “Transitions.”

We say goodbye to another character this week, so if you haven’t seen the episode, stop reading this (also, why are you reading this?). A proposition for you: wish that Proposition Joe may rip in peace. His stinky nephew Cheese sold him out in exchange for one Hungry Joe. His own family just for a guy who pees sitting down. Smdh.

The episode of course features detailed intellectual analysis of Cheese’s treachery, Scott’s weaselly-ass-little-bitchness, Jimmy’s invented serial killer, and more, but there is also a spirited debate about peeing standing up vs. peeing sitting down. On this podcast we want you to eat your vegetables, but also you get a little piss as a treat.

Sitting or standing? Tell us in a  five-star review on Apple Podcasts.

Email us at frotcast@gmail.com; leave us a voicemail at 415-275-0030

Support the Pod: become a patron at patreon.com/Frotcast and get more bonus content than you could ever want. Sign up for the Pod Yourself a Shoutout tier to hear Vince give you a corner nickname on the podcast, like this week’s newest members: Two Times, The System, Special K, Tank Bra, Chickens, Mellow Yellow, and O’Frottery.

-Description by Brent Flyberg