Faced with sudden doubts about her marriage, a young New York mother teams up with her larger-than-life playboy father to tail her husband.
Credits: TheMovieDb.
Film Cast:
- Felix: Bill Murray
- Laura: Rashida Jones
- Dean: Marlon Wayans
- Fiona: Jessica Henwick
- Vanessa: Jenny Slate
- Maya: Liyanna Muscat
- Theo: Alexandra Mary Reimer
- Theo: Anna Chanel Reimer
- Gran: Barbara Bain
- Amanda: Juliana Canfield
- Diane: Alva Chinn
- Officer O’Callaghan: Mike Keller
- Musto: Musto Pelinkovicci
- Babysitter 1: Zora Casebere
- Music Teacher: Melissa Errico
- Jenna: Zoe Bullock
- Chase: Chase Sui Wonders
- Carla: Elizabeth Guindi
- Mom: Jules Willcox
- Mandy: Ximena Lamadrid
- Blonde: Kelly Lynch
- Piano Player: Earl Rose
- Cocktail Party Guest 1: Catherine G. Blair
- Cocktail Party Guest 2: Anne Goldrach
- Lady 1: Waltrudis Buck
- Lady 2: Nancy Ozelli
- Police Officer 2: Chris Cenatiempo
- Security Attendant: Cliff Samara
- Waitress: Natia Dune
- Kelly: Nadia Dajani
- Host: Spice Greene
- Milo: Grayson Eddey
- Model Mom: Charlotte D’Alessio
- Mom at School: Kim Hill
- Miss Mindy: Evangeline Young
- Guitar Player: John Tropea
- Young Laura (voice) (uncredited): Romy Mars
Film Crew:
- Visual Effects Supervisor: Lance Ranzer
- Set Dresser: Guy Kozak
- Production Assistant: Katie Tuohy
- Executive Producer: Francis Ford Coppola
- Location Assistant: Christian Powell
- Producer: Sofia Coppola
- Executive Producer: Roman Coppola
- Executive Producer: Mitch Glazer
- Producer: Youree Henley
- Casting: Courtney Bright
- Location Scout: Eric Papa
- Art Department Coordinator: Mariella Navarro
- Casting: Nicole Daniels
- Editor: Sarah Flack
- Production Design: Anne Ross
- Set Decoration: Amy Beth Silver
- Unit Production Manager: Caroline Jaczko
- Music Supervisor: Christian Mazzalai
- Costume Design: Stacey Battat
- Music Supervisor: Deck d’Arcy
- Executive Producer: Fred Roos
- Director of Photography: Philippe Le Sourd
- Music Supervisor: Thomas Mars
- Music Supervisor: Laurent Brancowitz
- Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Richard Beggs
- Stunt Coordinator: Brian Smyj
- First Assistant Director: Curtis Smith
- Production Supervisor: Richard Keeshan
- Script Supervisor: Eva Z. Cabrera
- Second Assistant Director: Brad Robinson
- Supervising Art Director: Jennifer Dehghan
- Stunts: Nitasha Bhambree
- Stunts: Declan Mulvey
- Stunts: Chris Cenatiempo
- Stunts: Billy Darrer
- Stunts: Mike Matera
- Stunts: Jeffrey Lee Gibson
- Stunts: James Northrup
- Stunts: Freddy Esposito
- Stunts: Alex Anagnostidis
- Stunts: Jen Egan
- Stunts: Mark Odgers
- Stunts: Clint Reynolds
- Stunts: Derric J. Stotts
- Stunts: Mick O’Rourke
- Stunts: Scott Kelly
- Stunts: Dean Marrazzo
- Stunts: Ann Carton
- Stunts: Robert Nagle
- Stunts: Turner Smith
- Stunts: Noah Schultz
- “B” Camera Operator: Vince J. Vennitti
- Production Sound Mixer: Ken Ishii
- Boom Operator: Anguibe Guindo
- Key Grip: Ted Lehane
- Grip: Igor Ibradzic
- Grip: Austin Behan
- Grip: John Halligan
- Best Boy Electric: Silvio Marfe
- Second Assistant “A” Camera: Jordan Levie
- Rigging Gaffer: Michael Gallart
- Still Photographer: JoJo Whilden
- Gaffer: Jack Coffen
- Dolly Grip: Wesley Battle
- First Assistant “A” Camera: Rick Gioia
- First Assistant “B” Camera: Toshiro Yamaguchi
- Best Boy Grip: Ben D’Andrea
- Grip: Lee Walker
- Property Master: David Schanker
- Assistant Property Master: Joanna Leavens
- Special Effects Coordinator: Benjy Harris
- Makeup Artist: Christine Hooghuis
- Hairstylist: Steve Darius
- Assistant Costume Designer: Cailey Breneman
- Hairstylist: Frances Hannon
- Costume Supervisor: Marie Seifts
- Makeup Artist: Kristen Kiyan
- Key Costumer: Jessica Calderón
- Set Costumer: Mary Caprari
- Set Costumer: Erica Suzanne Scott
- Hair Department Head: April Schuller
- Hairstylist: Theresa Marra-Siliceo
- Production Coordinator: Holly Pilch
- Payroll Accountant: Patricia Porter
- Assistant Production Coordinator: Mary Hodge
- Set Decoration Buyer: Benjamin Bridges
- Supervising Dialogue Editor: Tony Martinez
- Key Costumer: Joanna Brett
- Key Makeup Artist: Jackie Risotto
- Extras Casting: Grant Wilfley
- Assistant Location Manager: Tom Sexton
- Extras Casting Assistant: Allison Hall
- Production Accountant: Shellie Gillespie
- Key Hair Stylist: Claire Mahony
- Assistant Location Manager: Scott Ferlisi
- Transportation Co-Captain: Damon Smith
- Second Second Assistant Director: Sussan Cordero
- Location Manager: Christie Mullen
- Costume Coordinator: Laurette Partridge
- Makeup Department Head: Evelyne Noraz
- Unit Publicist: Brooke Ensign
- Foley Artist: Heikki Kossi
- Sound Effects Editor: Roy Waldspurger
- Visual Effects Supervisor: Dan Bornstein
- Colorist: Damien van der Cruyssen
- Foley Editor: Lee Salevan
- Construction Coordinator: Richard Hebrank
- Transportation Captain: Edward Devereaux II
- Foley Mixer: Kari Vähäkuopus
- ADR Voice Casting: Dann Fink
- Additional Editor: Janet Gaynor
- Assistant Sound Editor: Eric McAllister
- ADR Voice Casting: Bruce Winant
- Dialogue Editor: Eliza Paley
Movie Reviews:
- SWITCH.: Perhaps my expectations were too high, but I wanted so much more than the product we ended up with here. While I enjoyed ‘On The Rocks’, I can’t push myself past saying it was simply cute and sweet – and while it bolstered my love of Bill Murray just a little further, for Rashida Jones it just made me shrug.
– Jess Fenton - Read Jess’ full article…
https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-on-the-rocks-another-sophia-coppola-and-bill-murray-collab-with-a-splash-of-water - Manuel São Bento: If you enjoy reading my Spoiler-Free reviews, please follow my blog @
https://www.msbreviews.com - Before jumping into the movie itself, I need to offer my appreciation for Sofia Coppola’s career so far. With such a renowned filmmaker as a father (Francis Ford Coppola, the famous director behind the classic The Godfather trilogy, Apocalypse Now, and much more), Sofia was able to create a distinct career, avoiding condescending comparisons with her father’s success. Most people in her situation would crumble to the pressure and succumb to a total failure. Fortunately, Sofia started showing her own unique talent early by delivering one of the best rom-coms of the 2000s, Lost in Translation (only her second feature film). Therefore, I was actually pretty interested in the simple premise of On the Rocks.
- This latest installment in Sofia’s filmography continues one of her trademark characteristics: a light movie that addresses not-that-light themes. The main narrative follows the answer to a binary question: is Laura’s (Rashida Jones) husband, Dean (Marlon Wayans), having an affair? The two possible outcomes don’t allow the film to carry any impactful surprises regarding this storyline, but Sofia writes a screenplay filled with astonishingly captivating character interactions, mostly between Laura and her father, Felix (Bill Murray). The movie’s beginning focuses on demonstrating Laura’s day-to-day basis, developing this character in an exceptionally smooth manner.
- These first minutes without Felix in the picture establish Laura’s mental state perfectly. Her feelings, thoughts, doubts, everything is shared with the viewer either through clean exposition or subtle expressions from the remarkable Rashida Jones, who delivers a nuanced, extremely rich performance. Then, enter the phenomenal Bill Murray. Felix is a charming yet complicated old man who can’t be around a woman without hitting on her or stating dumb things like, “I think I’m getting deaf to women’s voices”. His relationship with her daughter seems quite close to the point of Laura trusting his crazy conspiracy theories based on exaggerated facts.
- Here lies my number one issue with the film. Until the third act, I could describe On the Rocks in one word: real. Every scene, conversation, or action is displayed in such a realistic way that I struggle to find a single sequence that didn’t need to be in the movie. At the end of each scene, the viewer always learns something new, whether about a character, an event, or merely a detail of someone’s life. However, the last half-an-hour takes the main characters (father and daughter, to be clear) through a path that crosses the line of common sense and makes me doubt if Laura would truly do such a thing, based on what the film showed of her personality until then.
- Nevertheless, that’s not the problem. The real issue is the revelation that comes with this final act that raises a few questions concerning the father-daughter connection. I can’t get into spoilers, but Sofia develops Felix as a fun, entertaining, not-to-be-taken-seriously old guy who makes a few too many jokes that maybe he shouldn’t. However, after discovering a certain part of his life and how it affected his family, I partially lost empathy. The revelation is probably the only slightly surprising aspect of the movie, not because it’s shocking (the film clearly points in that direction), but due to the viewer’s focus being on finding out if Dean is cheating on Laura.
- This new development makes me question how Laura can be so close to her father without ever showing on-screen how she dealt with this situation, especially at the very end where the subject matter is brought back into her life. Don’t be mistaken by this extensive explanation, I still enjoyed the movie! I can’t deny the impact of this negative issue, but it’s far from destroying the film. It’s beautifully produced, with every technical aspect complementing each other. Sofia controls both the pacing and the tone of the movie in a flawless fashion.
- Still, Rashida Jones and Bill Murray steal the spotlight. Both deliver outstanding performances, carrying the dialogues effortlessly and fully embracing their characters’ personas. Marlon Wayans is also pretty good, even though he doesn’t have that much screentime. With a short runtime, the premise gets surprisingly more captivating than what I thought it was going to be. I felt significantly invested in the process of finding out the answer to the big question, and despite the partially disappointing third act, this storyline is brilliantly executed.
- In the end, On the Rocks is yet another success for A24 and Apple TV+. Sofia Coppola continues her already remarkable, distinct career with another film defined by one of her trademark attributes. A serious subject depicted through a lighter perspective, possessing fascinating character interactions, and a premise that ends up being a lot more engaging (yet still somewhat predictable and formulaic) than what’s expected from it. Rashida Jones and Bill Murray are genuinely impressive, sharing palpable chemistry, ultimately carrying the whole narrative on their shoulders. It doesn’t feel like a movie. It feels like a real story with real people… at least until the third act, where an over-the-top, hard-to-accept sequence leads to a revelation that questions the father-daughter bond, as well as the rushed resolution of such declaration. I still recommend it as a weekend’s evening pick due to its short runtime and overall enjoyable story.
- Rating: B-