ON THE ROCKS | FILM REVIEW
Dir: Sofia Coppola (15, 96 mins)
A wafer-thin comedy that just about manages to charm thanks to its central pairing of Rashida Jones and Bill Murray. Jones plays Laura, a married writer with two young kids who feels herself stuck in a rut and worries about losing touch with her husband Dean, played by Marlon Wayans. She has writer’s block, endures the school run and worries that the passion has gone out of her relationship with her workaholic partner. Then she finds a woman’s toiletries bag in her husband’s suitcase after he returns from a business trip. It belongs to his work associate Fiona, played by Iron Fist’s Jessica Henwick. Is her husband having an affair?
Enter Bill Murray, as irascibly charming as ever. He is Jones’ wayward father, a wealthy incorrigible flirt who assumes the worst about their relationship and gathers information on Wayans, embroiling his daughter into joining him on spying trips and ultimately a trip to Mexico to get to the truth. While Murray and Jones work well together, their complex father/daughter relationship is skimmed over and moments of connection are bereft of any real dramatic heft.
The film touches on many interesting themes – fidelity, the ups and downs of marriage, self worth, parental responsibilities – but they all feel frustratingly underdeveloped. The script is unwilling to delve deep, making everything surface level, and thus it’s hard to care about anyone as the farcical situations rise. There’s a Woody Allen-esque tone to the wealthy Manhattanite scenes, and although Coppola keeps events frothy and likeable they’re also instantly forgettable.
Coppola’s earlier film with Bill Murray, Lost In Translation, had a haunted quality to it that hinted at far more going on beneath Murray’s hangdog visage. This, however, feels more obvious and empty, some scenes painfully on the nose to boot. It’s a shame, as Murray and Jones have charisma and acting chops to spare and the subject matter is far richer than the script delivers. Forgettably flimsy.
Available now on Apple TV
words KEIRON SELF