On the Rocks (2020)

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.