Film Review: “On the rocks”

I think I may have forgotten about Apple TV+. I remember watching The Morning Show and Defending Jacob, and then something we don’t talk about like See, but nothing really intrigued me enough to binge all of their content. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and even HBO Max have hooked me, but Apple’s starry, expensive new platform felt tired and without much good movies or series to stream. That may be why Sofia Coppola’s new film, On The Rocks, starring Bill Murray and Rashida Jones, is so forgettable, obvious, and dull. Coppola’s movie recently debuted on the service, and it came as a warning sign that it was going to be mediocre. Alas, the impressively positive reviews from critics hooked me in, but it was as I expected, Murray trying to save a complete disaster with only mixed-to-negative results. The characters are foolish, the pacing is all over the place, and it’s unfunny for the most part. The writing, also done by Coppola, feels detached, messy and unplanned as well, as if she wasn’t certain about the ending, and then threw it in there at the last minute.

Laura (Jones) is an aspiring novelist living in New York with her husband, an entrepreneur named Dean (Marlon Wayans) and her two children. As they get more and more distant from each-other when Dean goes on trips across the world, a peculiar thing happens. When he gets back from a work trip to London, he mistakes her for someone else. I wonder what that could mean? Being the stupid character she is, Laura suspects nothing even after she finds a woman’s purse containing body oil in his suitcase. After a lame excuse that Dean makes up, she begins to get suspicious, finally! Time to ring up Felix, her father, played by Murray. The movie is more or less saved from utter catastrophe because of this man’s charms. At 70 years old, the iconic comedic actor still has his playboy mojo with Felix, a legitimately engaging character. After Felix expresses his confidence that Dean is cheating on her, the two go on an adventure to seek out more clues. Oh, for god’s sake, what a stunning plot, eh?

The chemistry between Wayans and Jones nearly felt as if they were complete strangers, and every single conversation containing them or any other character felt artificial. The biggest issue is: Jones just isn’t a good enough actress in my opinion, and I needed someone like Emma Stone, Jennifer Lawrence, or even Scarlett Johansson to portray her. An actress that has true experience, not a The Office alum. Bill Murray is absolutely fantastic, as expected, and his brilliant comic chemistry deftly works within the dazzling New York background. If it weren’t for him, this would be one of the worst films of 2020. Unfortunately, even with someone as scene-stealing as himself, the film rarely holds up as his two co-stars let the guy down at every possible chance for a terrific scene. Considering how usually excellent A24 is at providing audiences with compelling characters and real performances in films like The Lighthouse, Midsommar, Lady Bird, and more, I was seriously let down by how fake everything felt.

Finally, I know this is supposed to be another one of Coppola’s slice-of-life movies, but her direction was an epic disappointment. The entire beginning was rushed, spending about 10 minutes on Dean and Laura getting married before quickly cutting to a Chris Rock sketch telling audiences that the two have children, and life sucks having them. Yeah, yeah, we get it. What could have been a slick transition sort of feels like lazy, uninspired writing on Coppola’s part. It felt so comfortable with mediocrity that the directing could get irritating sometimes. As I always say, it’s worse to have a film settle for bad than have it be downright terrible. On the Rocks has the ingredients to be a perfectly solid look into the life of its main character, but never attempts to execute them in successful fashion. As it concludes with an unsatisfying, almost contradicting end, you’ve wasted 90 minutes of your life. Thankfully, it’s a pretty short film, but man does it fly by slowly.

The final opinion is: Despite a charming performance from Bill Murray, Sofia Coppola’s On the Rocks is a detached, unengaging, bland, obvious mess of a slice-of-life film that is a blaring disappointment for A24…$KIP IT

Rated: R (Some Language|Sexual References)

Genre: Comedy/Drama

Runtime: 1 hour 36 minutes

Directed By: Sofia Coppola