Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke give sexploitation cinema a queer spin in ‘Drive-Away Dolls’

By JAKE COYLE
AP Film Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke’s “Drive-Away Dolls” signifies both the much-awaited return of Coen to narrative filmmaking and the giddy revival of a long-dormant spirit of ’70s B-movie filmmaking. It’s a lesbian road trip comedy and an unabashedly queer romp that channels the playful verve of long-ago sexploitation cinema. It’s also Coen’s first narrative feature since stepping back from filmmaking with his brother, Joel, since 2018’s “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.” “Drive-Away Dolls” rekindles a familiar absurdist Coen vernacular filtered through a much different perspective. Focus Features releases “Drive-Away Dolls” in theaters Friday.