“On the Rocks” Apple Original Film Review by Josh Davis : Pop Culture Leftovers

“On the Rocks” Apple Original Film Review by Josh Davis

October 31, 2020 12:20 pm |

Writer/Director Sofia Coppola knows how to capture a city on celluloid.

In “Lost in Translation” (starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson), Coppola showed the essence of Tokyo, as seen through the eyes of two disillusioned Americans.

With “On the Rocks,” Coppola re-teams with Murray, this time starring alongside Rashida Jones (“Parks and Recreation”) and the city of New York.

Jones plays Laura, a writer and a mother who suspects her busy working husband Dean (Marlon Wayans, in maybe his best dramatic role since “Requiem for a Dream”) is having an affair.

Murray costars as her father, Felix, a high-dollar art dealer who takes it upon himself to help her catch Dean in the act.

Felix is terribly wealthy and the New York shown on screen is exclusive and posh and highbrow.

Having lunch in a fancy restaurant, Felix mansplains human sexuality through the guise of anthropology. It’s both gross and mildly intellectual.

A moment later, he notices the waitress as a ballet dancer and speaks to her in Russian.

“Can you ever just act normal around any woman?” a frustrated Laura asks her father.

Like “Lost in Translation,” Coppola plays small and mundane moments for laughs. Laura, stuck on finishing a book she’s sold but hasn’t yet written, spends one afternoon sorting her notes using an electronic label maker — rather than actually focus on writing.

We also watch Laura, now a mother of two, take her two young daughters to school each morning, which involves a lot of walking through picturesque New York streets and then standing outside classrooms with dozens of other privileged New York parents — the vast majority of which are women.

In a great recurring gag, Laura often finds herself waiting with another mother, Vanessa (Jenny Slate, “Obvious Child”), who throughout the movie tells, in bits and pieces, the story of a failed relationship.

Each time they briefly meet, Vanessa right away picks up the thread from the last time and won’t let go until Laura manages to politely excuse herself. Slate’s delivery and doggedness is pure comedy gold.

The real highlight of the movie, however, is the relationship between Laura and Felix. Jones and Murray have dynamite chemistry, and they seem like they’re having a ball with the material.

At one point, they tail Dean (supposedly heading out to dinner for work) through the narrow, bustling streets of New York in a tiny, sputtering sports car, only to be pulled over by police after running a red light.

“We’re going to meet people,” Felix deadpans as police sirens sound off in their wake.

When Dean books a business trip to Mexico, Felix convinces Laura they should again follow him, this time hopping a plane, and later sneaking through the brush between hotels covered in cameras, binoculars and night-vision gear.

“On the Rocks” at its core is a father-daughter story. It’s either ironic or apt that Coppola’s own father is one of the most famous film directors of all time, and likely about as larger-than-life as Murray’s Felix.

Like her father’s best films, there’s really nothing else like a great Sofia Coppola movie. She captures the mundane, everyday moments like no one else, and especially flourishes when following a straight character in a foreign or uncomfortable situation.

Clearly, she’s grown up on and digested a massive history of moviemaking, and Coppola herself is more than capable of spinning that vernacular into her own, utterly unique and singular films.

Murray is also turning out to be her muse. One of the greatest goofballs in cinema history, Coppola knows how to reign him in just enough that his oversized personality feels like an appropriate character trait, rather than an actor winking at the camera.

With “On the Rocks” Coppola turns in her best movie since “Lost in Translation.” That’s partly because of the fine performances of Murray and Jones, but it also feels more focused and personal than some of her other recent works.

Here, the writing is sharp, cutting and insightful, the cinematography is utterly gorgeous and — a Coppola trademark — the new wave and indie soundtrack seamlessly fits into the narrative of the subject and the backdrop of the city.

“On the Rocks” is a movie for those who love dry comedy, sharp writing and strong acting performances and, maybe more than anything else, people who love movies.

Review by Josh Davis

PCL Rating: Tupperware

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: FRESH 🍅