Director: Sofia Coppola
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Runtime: 96 Minutes
Main Cast: Rashida Jones, Bill Murray, Marlon Wayans, Jessica Henwick, Jenny Slate, Liyanna Muscat
Plot: Laura (Rashida Jones) feels stuck in a rut and has deep concerns about her marriage. Finding a woman’s toiletry bag in Dean’s (Marlon Wayans) suitcase is the final straw. After confiding in her father (Bill Murray) she gets roped into following Dean to find out if he’s being unfaithful.
My Thoughts: Can I make a confession? I’ve only watched one other movie directed by Sofia Coppola which was Lost in Translation (2003) and I really hated it. I know it’s one of those movies everyone loves but ugh, I couldn’t get into it at all, it bored me senseless. I love to check Letterboxd to see what’s trending and what everyone is watching and On the Rocks has been in that top list for a while now, but once I saw the director I just couldn’t watch it. Then I read Movie Rob’s review and told him my thoughts. Turns out he wasn’t a fan of Lost in Translation either but he enjoyed this! That’s all I needed to give it a go myself.
And I’m so glad, because I really enjoyed it. It was still quite slow paced and didn’t grip me from start to finish, but there was a lot to enjoy and it played on my mind a lot afterwards too, one of those movies you find yourself liking more after you finished watching it, if that makes sense? Rashida Jones is such a likeable lead, I’ve been a big fan of her since Parks & Recreation. It’s Bill Murray who steals the show however, playing an eccentric, wealthy father. The role feels like it was written for him, there’s noone else who could play it the same way.
I wasn’t expecting the adventure element that the movie had, I guess I thought a movie like this would mostly take place in one location. It certainly helped to keep things going and those scenes with Rashida Jones and Bill Murray together in his car are by far the best ones. I’m not sure I’ll be giving Lost in Translation a second chance any time soon, but I at least won’t shy away from any more of Sofia Coppola’s movies.
Best Bit: *SPOILERS* Maybe I’m feeling cynical this year, but I really didn’t expect the outcome. I was so pleasantly surprised, because I think most movies like this would have ended with the suspicions being correct but the person left hurt being okay in the end and finding peace with it but this ending was just so wholesome.
Worst Bit: Other than it being a bit slow the only bit that really lost me was when Laura was happy to leave her kids behind for a few days while she went to Mexico. That was just a little bit too silly for me, although I understand why it needed to happen for the story.
Fun Trivia: A picture of Bill Murray and Barack Obama playing mini-golf in the film appears which happened in real life when Bill Murray was presented with The Mark Twain Prize.
My Rating: 3 and a half beautifully wrapped birthday presents containing a really handy gadget for the kitchen, but also disappointment.
so glad u gave this one a shot Allie!
Thanks for the shout out! always happy to help out!
Keep up the great work!
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My pleasure, thanks for convincing me to give it a go because I’m so glad I did š
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I’m hoping to see this film on my laptop this month. Plus, I’m a Sofia fanboy and I love all of her films. I know people this is more light-hearted than some of other films but she’s definitely better than a lot of other people’s work. Sorry you hated Lost in Translation, that is my all-time favorite film ever… *cries*
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I’m so sorry! I know it’s a movie so many people love and maybe I just wasn’t in the right mood?! Either way, as a fan of her other movies I really hope you love this one!
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I scrolled past the part that said *spoilers* but I keep forgetting to watch this. I like most of Coppola’s movies, aside from Somewhere which I loathed when everyone else seemed to love it. Thanks for the reminder lol.
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I really need to watch a few more of her movies so I can make a proper opinion – but maybe I won’t start with Somewhere!
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It’s always great to see Bill Murray in a more serious role. I actually liked Lost in Translation, but to each their own:-) I also loved Will Ferrell in Stranger Than Fiction–always cool to see a comedic actor do something unexpected!
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Sooooo many people have told me to watch Stranger Than Fiction now, I’m definitely going to have to see it next week.
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