Review | Apple TV Plus’ newest foray into ‘On the Rocks’ is charming success
Director Sofia Coppola followed her magnum opus film, “Lost in Translation,” with her newest project “On the Rocks,” starring Bill Murray and Rashida Jones as a father-daughter duo. Unsplash
Review written by Dimitri Keogh, sophomore screenwriting major
It’s a Saturday night. You’re taking some much-needed time to relax and unwind after a stressful week. You grab the remote and see what’s on. You bounce from service to service, but nothing sounds appetizing. “The Office?” You’ve seen it a thousand times. “Marriage Story?” You don’t feel like crying tonight. “The Queen’s Gambit?” You don’t like chess.
When all hope is nearly lost and you’re about to throw your remote out the window, I appear. What do I do?
I lead you to the Apple TV Plus application and implore you to watch “On The Rocks.” Of course, you inevitably ask, “What’s ‘On The Rocks?’ What’s Apple TV Plus?”
Don’t worry, I’ll get you up to speed.
Apple TV Plus is Apple’s streaming service that launched about a year ago. It has debuted to middling reviews, with its programming being a real hit or miss (“Dickinson” – hit! “See” – miss!). However, it landed an Oscar nomination with the release of a new film available for digital streaming Oct. 23 – Sofia Coppola’s “On the Rocks.”
The film stars Bill Murray as Felix and Rashida Jones as Laura, a father-daughter duo who band together to find out if Laura’s husband is cheating on her. In the film, Coppola more or less tries to replicate the narrative spark of her magnum opus, “Lost in Translation.” The two films are quite similar: both feature a protagonist who is in a rut and looking for a way out, both are meandering and both star Murray in Oscar-caliber roles.
Coppola’s gambit pays off. The film offers a 96-minute jaunt for viewers to bounce between wry laughs, inquisitive reflections and maybe even a tear shed. The director is able to drop us in the middle of a marriage that is “on the rocks” and lead us to the core of the issue: Laura, preoccupied with all that comes with raising two girls and beginning to work on a second novel, begins to suspect her workaholic husband, Dean (Marlon Wayans), is having an affair. When she discloses this to her playfully misogynistic father, Felix, he is convinced she must catch him in the act and confront him.
The film prides itself on the scenes shared between Laura and Felix – they’re absolute gems. Their differing philosophies on men and women lead to plenty of witty zings and lay the groundwork for unresolved familial conflict, which comes to a boil in the third act. Jones puts in a career-best turn and Murray has rarely been better, setting himself up for another Oscar nomination and hopeful win; he’s utterly magnetic onscreen and steals every scene he’s in. It’s the best performance I have seen all year, by a mile.
As for the relationship between Jones and Wayans, it’s a step down from the Jones-Murray interactions – who are such a powerhouse duo onscreen that it’s almost a detriment to the rest of the film. But the couple holds their own, offering enough substance and weight to move the plot along and give the audience pause at a more or less ambiguous ending.
In a year where theaters are hurting and good movies are a rare commodity, “On The Rocks,” is a beacon of light ushering us to shore. When the Oscars come in April, don’t be shocked when it snags an award or two: Murray’s performance is a sure-fire pick, with an outside shot at a nod for Best Original Screenplay. As for Apple TV Plus, it’s well worth the seven-day free trial to check this one out. And who knows, maybe you’ll fall in love with “Ted Lasso” and stick around for the $4.99 per month subscription rate. There are worse things to do with your money.
