‘On the Rocks’- A slight but warm and funny entry in the Sofia Coppola catalogue.

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There is something joyous whenever one sees Bill Murray. He has the presence of the wacky uncle, the relative one does not see often but always exudes charm and likeability. He is back now with one of his most faithful collaborators, Sofia Coppola. Coppola brought out the best in Murray with their hit 2003 film ‘Lost in Translation’. They are back in their new film ‘On the Rocks’ and whilst not quite on the same form as that, it offers good entertainment for roughly 90 minutes.

The film follows Laura (Rashida Jones) operating the difficult world of motherhood. She is trying to write a novel but finds she is getting nowhere. Her husband Dean (Marlon Wayans) works in advertising and is constantly working late hours. She sees nothing wrong at first, but when her father Felix (Murray) comes over, he persuades her that he might be having an affair with a coworker. And so, transpires a wacky series of events as they both tail Dean, whilst also discovering more about one another.

‘On the Rocks’ is not Sofia Coppola at her finest, but she delivers a warm and fun film that deserves to be seen. Most of her films are notoriously dialogue light. They are never quiet, especially due to her wonderfully inventive use of music, but chit-chat is something that they never rely heavily on. They come with the quiet, tranquility that come with the best of relationships, whether it be Murray and Scarlett Johnasson in ‘Lost in Translation’ or Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning in ‘Somewhere’. Yet, Murray and Jones are always yapping throughout the entire film. It has the essence of a mid-tier Woody Allen or Noah Baumbach. The jazzy soundtrack and the many establishing shots highlighting the beauty of New York certainly highlight this. Yet, the dialogue is well written, and it helps that Murray and Jones are able to bring this effectively to life.

It is certainly not one that lingers in the mind for days to come, but it does a nice job at demonstrating the talent and charm of its two leading actors. I prefer Coppola when she is relying more upon visuals, but her dialogue game is strong here and it does a nice job at entertaining.