On the Rocks

This movie is a tone-deaf failure with a boring sitcom plot and actors who don't gel. Even though it reunites Bill Murray and Sofia Coppola, it has none of the charm and atmosphere of Lost in Translation.

Murray looks like he's doing it as a favor for Coppola, but would actually rather be somewhere else. His delivery is strangely affectless and his character is utterly unlikeable. The main character is written to be deliberately uninteresting and charmless - I actually felt a bit bad for the actress who had to portray her that way. She has no chemistry with the actor who portrays her husband, and every time they're together it seems more like an awkward first date than a scene from a marriage. Their two children are super cute but have almost no dramatic role and spend most of the movie with babysitters while the main characters are drinking and eating at fancy restaurants and parties.

The plot is totally pedestrian and can be summed up as: "I think my husband is having an affair. Let's follow him and see if we can catch him in the act!" And then, uh oh, now Lucy has a lot of splainin' to do. Fortunately, the characters are all rich, so they don't have to worry much about the consequences of bad decisions. Viewers are left with little more than an off-putting taste of life in the bubble of New York City privilege and wealth.

Big fan of Coppola but this film was not good. I basically forgot I'd seen it within hours.

I really loved this film. The chemistry of Jones and Murray was a real driving force, and both characters were, to me at least, very well rounded, interesting and funny. I think it was shot beautifully, and all of the short scenes really conveyed the mundanity of her life, and the monotony of adulthood. I loved the semi redemption of Murray's character, with some people unable to forgive his actions, but his relationship with his daughter struggling through. I just found the whole thing very real, and affecting, and overall I loved it.

Previews are better than the movie, with the ending a complete letdown after what seemed like three hours of nothing. Murray's character is cliche. The womanizer who knows everyone, or relative of, thus talking himself through every situation, makes the movie lack any sense urgency or conflict. The only conflict is whether Wayans is cheating or not. In the end, there's zero fallout from a wasted agenda. Unless you love these actors when they're not funny, skip it. Wayans, Jones, Murray and Coppola are so much better than this money grab.

Bill Murray was charming and seemed completely natural. The father/daughter relationship was touching. I would definitely recommend this movie when you are ready for a character driven story instead of a super hero CGI movie.