Review: On The Rocks

Currently playing in limited release and on Apple TV+ is the new Sofia Coppola directed comedy-drama, On the Rocks. The film stars Rashida Jones (BlackAF) as a woman who thinks that he husband, played by Marlon Wayans (White Chicks), might be cheating on her. So, she confides in her womanizing-father, brilliantly played by Bill Murray, whose own infidelities tore apart her childhood. The father and daughter then hatch a plan to catch the husband in the act, and in the process, strengthen their own struggling relationship. The result is a film that resembles Coppola’s award-winning Lost in Translation in tone and subject matter but is more mature in its ideas on love and marriage. The movie is upbeat and fun in its examination of the father and daughter relationship, and features a wonderfully nuanced comedic performance by Jones, and an Oscar-worthy supporting role by Murray.

Set in New York City, On the Rocks focuses on Laura (Jones), a wife and mother of two struggling with writer’s block while trying to finish her next book. Her husband, Dean (Wayans), is a successful businessman busy launching a new company. With his work pulling him away from time with his family, Laura begins to suspect that Dean might be cheating on her. With no one else to turn to, Laura discusses her worries with her father, Felix (Murray), a famous art dealer whose own infidelities broke-up his marriage to Laura’s mom. Rather than comforting Laura, Felix encourages her doubts in her marriage and concocts a plan to follow Dean and catch him in the act, which ultimately brings the father and daughter closer together. However, when Felix and Laura follow Dean to Mexico on a business trip, the truth is soon discovered, and Laura will have to choose between her loyalty to Dean and her love for her father.

On the Rocks will inevitably be compared to Lost in Translation because writer/director Sofia Coppola explores similar themes, but the two movies are extremely different even if they both star Bill Murray. Rocks is a more mature film than Translation, exploring a marriage already well in progress rather than the early days of a couple that has just tied the knot. Where Scarlett Johansson’s character in Translation was searching for a sense of herself in her new marriage, Laura knows who she is, but is doubting her husband. Rocks is also much lighter and funnier than Translation, allowing both Jones and Murray to unleash their comedic best. Coppola clearly has a particular point of view on marriage, and that comes through crystal clear in the film and drives the storyline.

One of Coppola’s best qualities as a writer and director is the way her characters come off the screen as fully fleshed out human beings without a lot of backstory. With a “Bernie for President” bumper sticker on her refrigerator, and sporting vintage Run-DMC and Beastie Boys T-shirts, you know exactly who Laura is without having to spend a lot of time on her backstory.

The same can be said for our introduction to Felix, with his personal driver and flamboyant scarfs, we know that this character is larger than life, even before Murray utters his first line. As the daughter of the director of The Godfather, Coppola clearly understands what it’s like to have a larger-than-life father, and that is reflected in the film. If there is any downside to On the Rocks, it would be its overall light tone. It just doesn’t pack as much of an emotional punch as you might expect from a film like this. That being said, there are quiet moments that are heavily emotional such as a scene where Laura is looking fondly at her father while he sings in a bar with strangers, or the admiration she has for her dad as he talks his way out of a speeding ticket.

Comedian Marlon Wayans has the difficult job of playing the straight-man in the film and pulls it off quite well playing Dean as both loving and mysterious, leaving the audience to wonder, just like Laura, if he is really having an affair or not. Besides Coppola’s excellent work, it’s the chemistry between Rashida Jones and Bill Murray that really makes the film worth watching. Both actors give career-defining performances that are worthy of Academy Award consideration. Jones is a truly underrated actress and her comedic abilities allow her to keep up with Murray, but still deliver the emotional stakes that the story needs. Growing up as the daughter of legendary music producer Quincy Jones and actress Peggy Lipton, Jones is no stranger to the upper-class Manhattan society lifestyle which the film is set in.

But its Murray that really shines in a role tailormade for him. Felix is much different than Murray’s role in Lost in Translation. He has regrets but is happy overall and is a much more gregarious character. Murray enhances his own well-known persona and creates a character that is believable, recognizable, and completely lovable. I was broken hearted when Murray did not win Best Actor for Lost in Translation, and it seems, particularly this year, that the stars are aligned to nominate Murray again, this time as Supporting Actor, and depending on the competition, he may have a good chance of finally winning the well overdue award. In the end, while it may lack some of the emotional punch you might expect, On the Rocks is an excellent comedy with Oscar worthy performance from Murray and Jones, and a fantastic script by Sofia Coppola.