“On the Rocks” is a minor work from Sofia Coppola, but one filled with a few rewarding pleasures. Starring Bill Murray, re-teaming with Coppola for the first time since 2003’s immaculate “Lost in Translation,” a turning point for both actor and director, this latest work from them is what you would classify as an agreeable diversion. Unsurprisingly, Murray steals the show, but it also features a career-best turn from Rashida Jones, who plays Murray’s daughter — the stares and subtle facial expressions from her here are priceless and exude a world of yearnful emotions. Although its simple, but delightful premise hampers it down a notch, at least when compared to Coppola’s top-tier works (“Lost in Translation,” Marie Antoinette”), this is very much a film that relies heavily on the infectious personalities of its two leads.
Jones is Laura, a stalled writer, tired mother, and unloved wife, whose husband, Dean (Marlon Wayans), seems to always be on business travels, as he manages his tech startup. Laura’s sleepwalking through life gets a burst of sudden energy when her womanizing father, Felix (Bill Murray), comes knocking at the door and starts filling her head with paranoid thoughts that her husband may be cheating on her with his assistant Fiona (Jessica Henwick). Felix is a retired art dealer with his own chauffeur, who assumes the worst of all men because, well, he’s been no slouch in the cheating department over the decades. Felix is convinced that Dean is cheating, and as the father-daughter duo team up to spy on the suspected husband, “On the Rocks” turns into the kind of sly screwball comedy that fits perfectly with Murray’s deadpan goofball acting stylings. Wait until you see Felix and Laura cruising down nighttime Manhattan and being stopped by police, only for Felix to ingeniously get away without a ticket.
It’s a testament to Murray’s talents that you can’t see anyone else pulling off this role. Coppola clearly wrote it for him. Ditto Jones, an underrated actress who finally gets the kind of role here that her talents deserve. The film is filled with DP Philippe Le Sourd’s glowingly greyish frames, which are accentuated by the atmospheric electro soundtrack, courtesy of indie rock band Phoenix. Coppola, who also wrote the screenplay, has a blast letting her guard down and making a movie that isn’t as serious as the rest of her filmography — this might just be the most inconsequential film she has ever directed, a little ditty that relies heavily on the charms of Bill Murray and turns out to be a nice little pandemic-era diversion. [B-]
I wouldn't call this film great — it stops short of that because of how neatly it resolves itself — but I'll give Rock his due here: this is much better than his previous directorial effort, "Top Five."