Highbrow Magazine - rashida jones https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/rashida-jones en Sofia Coppola’s ‘On the Rocks’ Explores Complicated Family Dynamics https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/11069-sofia-coppola-s-rocks-explores-complicated-family-dynamics <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/film-tv" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Film &amp; TV</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Fri, 11/27/2020 - 12:34</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1ontherocks.jpg?itok=6gGsWoyp"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1ontherocks.jpg?itok=6gGsWoyp" width="480" height="245" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>At a Glance: </strong></p> <p><strong>On the Rocks</strong></p> <p><strong>2½ stars</strong></p> <p><strong>Starring: Bill Murray, Rashida Jones, Marlon Wayans</strong></p> <p><strong>Director: Sofia Coppola</strong></p> <p><strong>Available on: Apple TV+</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Writer-director Sofia Coppola isn’t for everyone. She is an obvious talent buttressed by an elegant, easygoing style that results in moments ranging from sublime to dull. Alas, it’s her tendency to linger too long on simple notions that will leave some viewers cold.</p> <p> </p> <p><em>On the Rocks</em> is reminiscent of her 2003 directorial smash, <em>Lost in Translation</em>. That film told the story of an aging movie star – played by Bill Murray – facing a midlife crisis. For <em>On the Rocks</em>, Murray is back, but this time as a more-self-assured older man who volunteers to help his daughter, Laura (Rashida Jones), through a marital crisis.</p> <p> </p> <p>Murray plays Felix, a charming senior who still has a way with the ladies. We learn from Laura that he wasn’t a great dad. He was a womanizer even as a family man, something he unapologetically explains as part of the male DNA. Laura, being a kind soul, has maintained a loving relationship with her father nonetheless, and she turns to him when she begins to suspect her husband, Dean (Marlon Wayans), is having an affair.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/2ontherocks.jpg" style="height:315px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Murray, of course, thinks this is a foregone conclusion because Marlon is a man. This attitude stokes Laura’s concerns, but she also finds comfort in the obvious love that her father has for her. Womanizer or no, Murray does care for his daughter and demonstrates a willingness to go to great lengths to protect her.</p> <p> </p> <p>Although Laura’s romantic crisis serves as the film’s dramatic arc, the real meat of the issue is in watching father and daughter interact. This is a film about men and women and relationships. On the one hand, we have Laura and Dean, who seem like an ideal couple, apart from the nagging hints that Dean could be fooling around. On the other hand, we have Laura’s relationship with Murray, a man who hurt her throughout childhood despite the assumption he was there as her guide. That these men seem both different and alike is intentional, and viewers are meant to think about the way role models and past experience shape our world view.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/3ontherocks.jpg" style="height:324px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>The trouble with <em>On the Rocks</em>, assuming one has a problem, is that Coppola takes so much time telling such a simplistic tale. For those who enjoy low-key, persistent examinations of the human condition, this may not be criticism at all. Indeed, Coppola gets credit for the simplicity and authenticity of her work.</p> <p> </p> <p>Jones and Murray are fantastic, and <em>On the Rocks</em> has plenty to unpack for those willing to make the effort. The question is whether you’ll find the presentation compelling enough to expend that energy.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p><em><strong>Forrest Hartman, a </strong></em><strong>Highbrow Magazine</strong><em><strong> contributor, is a longtime entertainment journalist who teaches in the Department of </strong></em><a href="https://www.csuchico.edu/jour/" target="_blank"><em><strong>Journalism &amp; Public Relations at California State University, Chico</strong></em></a><em><strong>.</strong></em></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>For Highbrow Magazine</strong></p> <p> </p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/rocks" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">on the rocks</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/sofia-coppola" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">sofia coppola</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/billy-murray" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">billy murray</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/rashida-jones" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">rashida jones</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/marlon-wayans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">marlon wayans</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/new-films" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">new films</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/family-films" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">family films</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/romantic-films" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">romantic films</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Forrest Hartman</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Apple TV+</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Fri, 27 Nov 2020 17:34:09 +0000 tara 10015 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/11069-sofia-coppola-s-rocks-explores-complicated-family-dynamics#comments