Sofia Coppola (Somewhere, The Bling Ring, The Beguiled) gave birth to her most “friendly” work through On the Rocks, a comedy-drama that, although it often touches on themes such as family, marriage, to gender roles, broadly talks about happiness. . That the form of happiness is different for each individual. That the source of one’s happiness can change over the course of life. That happiness is not an absolute black-and-white thing, in which to feel it, one need not (always) imitate the paths taken by others. Top Movie Site
Needless to say, we know Laura (Rashida Jones) is unhappy. His days were filled with the routine of taking his two daughters to school and courses, which became increasingly repetitive and tiring. Never mind finishing her latest book, Laura didn’t have time to take care of herself. The white, punched T-shirt she wore in one of the scenes, confirmed that. Details that prove that apart from the aesthetic that always appears in his work, his background in fashion helps Coppola to lay the foundation of his character through the clothes they wear.
Meanwhile, Laura’s husband, Dean (Marlon Wayans), is a successful young businessman. Because of his success, Dean was rarely at home, often traveling out of town and abroad, for the sake of the never ending meetings. Of course Laura was happy, but on the other hand, she began to feel abandoned. Once, at a party celebrating Dean’s company success, Laura stood alone, abandoned by her husband in a crowd of strangers. That’s where Laura meets Fiona (Jessica Henwick), a beautiful young girl who is Dean’s co-worker, as well as a figure who Laura suspects to be an affair with her husband.
Is it true that Dean was having an affair? Is the bag containing Fiona’s toiletries that Laura accidentally found in Dean’s suitcase sufficient evidence? Enter Felix (Bill Murray), Laura’s father, who even though he is old, continues his adventure as a love player. According to Felix, all men are the same: putting sex first, making it difficult to commit. Felix also offers his help to stalk Dean, to expose his affair. Best Movie
From there Coppola builds his most playful film, through the investigation of the two main characters, which involves driving a red Alfa Romeo in the middle of a busy New York street, to an impromptu trip to Mexico. Thanks to his penchant for traveling all over the world, plus the wealth of selling art goods, it’s as if everyone knows Felix, which makes it easy for him to gather information.
Murray is perfectly central to the Coppola script, which is composed of intriguing chatter full of sexist theory from the mouth of Felix, who repeatedly states that from time immemorial, the role of women is servants of male passions. But Murray’s charisma, which easily hypnotizes women, makes viewers less likely to hate him. Meanwhile, Rashida Jones is the polar opposite, becoming a figure full of insurances, like the women around Felix, lulled, then believe the words “reassuring” his father.
Maybe like me, you expected On the Rocks to immediately confront Felix’s sexism. In fact, not. Sofia Coppola is smarter than that. He let Felix joke around, while Laura tossed between worries. It was only in the final half, Coppola’s rebuttal. Not with anger or antagonization. All of that is unnecessary, because Coppola argued while bringing concrete evidence, which shows how men like Felix can only see things from one point of view. Movie Review
But no hatred. On the Rocks is a hopeful perspective on love, which does not close our eyes to the reality related to male sexism. The orientation is happiness. First we met Felix, he asked his daughter to whistle. Laura couldn’t. Precisely since having children. Whistling is synonymous with happiness, or when someone is enjoying something (read: life). Laura has had a hard time enjoying life since starting a family. In the end, he didn’t need to throw everything away to get that happiness again. Because as Felix said in one of the sweetest (even though simple) moments of the film, everyone has their own adventure.
