“Drive-Away Dolls” follows Jamie (Margaret Qualley), a free-spirited woman who recently had a messy break-up with her girlfriend, and her far less outgoing friend Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan) who desperately needs to loosen up. Looking for a fresh start, they set out on a spontaneous road trip to Tallahassee. However, things quickly go awry when they cross paths with a group of criminals who want something they unwittingly drove off with. The ensemble cast also includes Beanie Feldstein, Colman Domingo, and Bill Camp, with brief appearances by Pedro Pascal and Matt Damon.
Critics and audiences have been lukewarm on “Drive-Away Dolls” (you can read /Film’s review here). It currently holds a 66% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes to go with a pretty rough 34% audience score. That doesn’t bode well for word of mouth here. At best, Focus is going to have to hope that people are curious enough to check this one out at home. Luckily, the budget is said to be in the $20 million range, meaning it doesn’t need to make a fortune to at least break even in the end.
For what it’s worth, Focus has changed its business model a lot after the pandemic. The company relies a lot more on VOD to turn its films into hits these days, so this one may not be an outright flop for the studio. Be that as it may, it’s certainly not doing much to help theaters this week. Unfortunately, this one is going to have to settle for potential cult status one day.
“Drive-Away Dolls” is in theaters now.