Sofia Coppola
On the Rocks

It must be admitted that Sofia Carmina Coppola, daughter of Francis Ford Coppola, sister of Roman Coppola, niece of actress Talia Rose Coppola, and cousin of Nicolas Kim Coppola aka Nicolas Cage, Robert Carmine Coppola Schwartzman, and Jason Francesco Schwartzman, not to mention aunt to Gian-Carla “Gia” Coppola, is the classic apple that hasn't fallen too far from the tree, as demonstrated once again with the direction of this recent (from 2020) thoroughly enjoyable film.

Here we find the talented Bill Murray once again, who, seventeen years after “Lost in Translation”, proves to be like fine wine, improving over time.

This time, he takes on the role of Felix, a somewhat intrusive father, a wealthy art and painting dealer, and still a playboy despite having surpassed retirement age.

The film opens with a beautiful trumpet piece and images of a newly married couple. As time passes, they find themselves with two daughters, aged 10 and 5. He, Dean, is a black American who has just opened a company to which he dedicates himself heart and soul to advance his projects and investments. She, Laura, is a writer working on a new book that has hit a bit of a slump, struggling to write.

Due to some family and extracurricular events, she suspects that he might be having an extramarital affair, specifically with Fiona, his beautiful secretary, and she confides her suspicions to Felix (her dad), who takes the situation to heart and tries, in his own somewhat clumsy but well-meaning way, to help her as an impromptu detective.

Don’t expect major plot twists except at the end of this smooth-going hour and a half, the only drawback being William James Murray who, during a weekend in Manzanillo at an oceanfront resort, sings a poignant Mexican song while with his daughter. They're incognito, tracking Dean, there with his secretary for work, a Murray who no longer twists his mouth while speaking (as in the film “Caddyshack” from '80, which I watched yesterday, where when he speaks, his mouth almost reaches his left ear), thanks to a good speech therapist, I suppose, and that's it.

P.S. For those who love coincidences like me, the film had its world premiere at the New York Film Festival on September 22, ehm, the day of my name day...