On the Rocks film review

Directed by Sofia Copolla 

Starring Bill Murray, Rashida Jones and Marlon Wayans 

The film focuses on Laura (Rashida Jones), a writer with two children and married to Dean (Marlon Wayans). Dean is always taking business trips to try and grow his company and in his growing absence, Laura finds herself in a rut and with growing concern that Dean might be cheating on her. When Laura's Playboy father Felix (Bill Murray) steps into the scene it is he who tries to encourage Laura to go on faux espionage throughout New York to find out if her hunch is correct. 

First off, I love when a director has the foresight to catch the city in its present moment, making it a character dressed in the most recent billboards, displaying modern wants and needs with the cars of the day moving along its veins and the people in the contemporary clothes as its most precious and always evolving accessory. Films that take the time to capture the environment their characters inhabit create a time capsule for future audiences to revisit. I could see this film shares a lot of similarities with the Woody Allen film Manhattan. Not being alive when Allen released Manhattan in theatres now when I talked about it, I get a sense of what life was like in New York in the 70s, I see how people talked, dressed and interacted with each other and their city. I hear the slang of the day and the issues brought up in conversation, I am transported back to that specific time period and see the world through Allen's eyes. when a director loves their city and shares it with you…. they make you want to be there and be a part of it. Woody Allen and Sofia Coppola share a similar love for the city that never sleeps. 

Sofia shoots the hell out of New York City capturing all her best features from all her most pleasing angles. Not only does she give us her beauty, but she also gives us her moods as well. Through her lens we see the big apple warming its turn-of-the-century ornate brick buildings in the sun and at night we see her darker moody side as the low-hanging mist is lit up by the glow of the city's towering buildings. The city is a stage in which the story is acted out almost as an eavesdropper on the daily lives of the characters. Bill Murray has aged like fine Scotch with every passing year the richness of his humour and the Lightness of his charm or refined to a warm radiant glow audiences' lineup to enjoy. 

On the Rocks allows Murray to be his most distinguished self and it is a pleasure to watch. Rashida Jones and his daughter pair beautifully as their father/daughter relationship is the highlight of this film. Rashida brings the emotional weight of a woman dealing with the complications of the mundanities of married life. Her love for her father is easy to see but like any long-term relationship, the feelings are complicated. All the characters in this film have a love for each other and there is no character to root against, making it really lighthearted and easy to enjoy.

I do though have one gripe with this film and it's the only one seen with any real turmoil, for me, it almost feels forced and might've just then put in to give the story a touch of drama for prestige.

 

Watching it, it is easy to tell Rashida takes no pleasure when yelling at Murray. She has to carry the whole scene and he just takes the abuse. was it rightly earned…? People are complicated. What does a person have to do to make up for past crimes and when do children's current problems become their own? the scene really has nothing new to say about selfishness…. and after all the fun and adventures they had, yelling just didn't feel honest. The scene didn't feel fully honest but was able to give the ending just a little bit sweeter of an emotional sendoff making the experience enjoyable. 

All in All, this movie is for anyone a fan of rom-com with just a touch of emotional depth Sofia’s love letter to New York is pretty good 6.5/10