Watch the trailer to see Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan and Pedro Pascal in the upcoming gay road trip movie
A version of this article was originally published 5 April 2022
Lesbians movies, as of late, have tended towards the melancholic; wistful depictions of restrained relationships full of longing glances, lingering touches and bonnets. Quite frankly we’re sick of it. Enter an unlikely hero: Ethan Coen.
Half of the celebrated filmmaking duo The Coen Brothers, Ethan is breaking out on his own to direct what sounds like an absolute romp of a lesbian road trip film. Inspired by the campy sexploitation films of Russ Meyer, the sex comedy centres on a “a skirt-chasing party girl” who takes a trip from Philadelphia to Miami with her buttoned-up friend. Along the way they cruise “every lesbian bar on the eastern seaboard” and encounter, among other things, a women’s soccer team, “a severed head in a hatbox, a bitter ex-girlfriend, a mystery briefcase and an evil senator”, The Hollywood Reporter reports.
The film is based on a script Coen wrote with his wife Tricia Cooke in the mid-2000s. In 2007, Coen told the Los Angeles Times that the sensibility was “exploitative but innocent”. The film appears to have originally been called “Drive-Away Dykes” but currently is untitled. Selma Blair, Holly Hunter, Christina Applegate and Chloe Sevigny have all been attached to the project at various times over the years. As of yet no cast is confirmed, however the project is reportedly gearing up to film this summer.
Straight white men haven’t historically been known for their nuanced and accurate portrayal of queer female relationships, so it’s possible we’re in for a bit of a shit show. But it’s also time for the lesbians to have some good, messy fun so, until further notice, we will be optimistically awaiting more news.
UPDATE (19/04/23): An update for all you lesbian film fans: Ethan Coen’s highly anticipated queer road trip movie has a title, a cast and even a release date. The movie will now star Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan, with current internet boyfriend Pedro Pascal, Beanie Feldstein, Colman Domingo, Bill Camp and Matt Damon rounding out the cast. Once known under the working title Drive-Away Dykes, the film has now opted for the less fun but safer option Drive-Away Dolls.
It will premiere in the US on September 22 and hopefully shortly after on this side of the world. We’ve also got a few more details about the plot and characters. Jamie is the name of the “uninhibited free spirit” AKA the “skirt-chasing party girl” who has broken up with yet another girlfriend, while her demure and buttoned-up friend is Marian. No more information has been given about whose severed head is in the hatbox, so we’ll just have to watch the film to find out.
UPDATE (23/06/23): The trailer for Drive-Away Dolls is officially here and it seems just as fun, campy and raucous as we were hoping it would be. In the trailer, we follow skirt-chasing Jamie (Margaret Qualley) and demure Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan) on a road trip which quickly goes awry when they cross paths with a group of inept criminals. Along the way they cruise “every lesbian bar on the eastern seaboard” and encounter, among other things, a women’s soccer team, a severed head in a hatbox, a bitter ex-girlfriend, a mystery briefcase and an evil senator.
The film will hit cinemas September 22, and in the meantime watch the trailer above.