By Kate Connor (she/her)

Monday evening at the Everyman is perfect if you’re looking to spice up your cinema trips, with a membership card you can get 2 for 1 every Monday, as well as early access to new movies and pre-recorded Q+A sessions from time to time. So settle into the velvet sofas, under the low lights, and wait as your food arrives at your seat.

This week’s preview was Ethan Coen’s Drive Away Dolls; a hilariously silly road trip thriller comedy that follows two lesbians – Jamie (Margaret Qualley), and Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan). The two girls are searching for a fresh start as yet another of Jamie’s relationships has fallen apart. They road trip to Tallahassee, Florida via a “drive away” car service (hence the title), and in a hilarious twist of events, unintentionally end up with a car full of smuggled goods, which we don’t find out the contents of until nearer the end of the movie.

Jamie and Marian are pursued by two mediocre agents running on next to no sleep. The contrast between the personable Arliss (Joey Slotnick) and the slightly socially inept Flint (C.J. Wilson) set them apart slightly from your typical good cop/bad cop duo. In a sequence of chase scenes, accompanied by various comical sexual scenes, Jamie and Marian become closer as they teach other things. In a nice complement to the other, Jamie tries coaching Marian out of her shell and Marian teaches Jamie to slow down and settle more.

Coen used cameos of familiar faces (such as Pedro Pascal) in small, almost irrelevant roles, to add to the humour the film as a whole. In a sequence of in psychedelic scenes at random intervals throughout the audience finally get to understand what the contraband items are that end up in the drive away car. The reveal (and subsequent scene) is so silly and not at all what is expected.

One thing in particular that I enjoyed while watching Drive Away Dolls was the casualness of Jamie and Marian’s sexuality; no one seems to be bothered by them pursuing girls, especially for being set at the turn of the century. It’s nice to have queer movies that don’t have coming out or the sexuality as the main premise of the plot. It didn’t matter that they were attracted to women; the same story would be possible either way.

If you’re in the mood for something easy and enjoyable to watch this month, I would recommend Drive Away Dolls (and if you decide to visit the Everyman, the cookie dough is also highly recommended!)

Kate Connor

Fourth year English and Creative Writing Student.