Universal Pictures may have had some big guns to play with at CinemaCon with Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked” and David Leitch’s “The Fall Guy,” but its mini-major division, Focus Features, wanted a little bit of the spotlight. Chairman Peter Kujawski took the stage and made the argument that the data shows that specialty business has recovered more than the media narrative thinks it has. That specialty division recovered better than the general marketplace when compared to 2019. More importantly, he had four films to champion, Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City,” Ethan Coen’s “Drive-Away Dolls,” Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers,” and, of course, Nia Vardalos’ “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3.”
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Let’s get to the most important one first. Yes, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3” will make your mom laugh, has pretty Greek sunsets and Andrea Martin once again steals the show. Clearly, a textbook example of a Focus Features release.
The film that really got the audience’s attention, however, was Coen’s “Drive-Away Dolls.” Co-written with Cohen’s wife, Tricia Cooke, this comedy finds Jamie (Margaret Qualley) snatching her friend Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan) for a lesbian road trip from New York City to Tallahassee, Florida. Along the way they get in the crosshairs of some nefarious folks including one fellow played by Colman Domingo and meet up with a friend played by Beanie Feldstein who somehow makes their circumstances worse. While certainly, its own thing, the preview shown gave a little bit of “Raising Arizona” vibes. Oh, and it was also super-fun. Is it a movie that will get a lot of awards attention? It doesn’t seem like it, but it also feels like the most A24/Neon-esque film that Focus has released in years.
One of Focus’ major awards films this Oscar season will likely be Payne’s “The Holdovers.” An original screenplay from David Hemingson (“Nebraska” is the only other film Payne has directed but not written in his career), this late coming-of-age tale centers on Angus (Dominc Sessa), a student stuck at his private boarding school over the holidays under the curmudgeonly eye of Mr. Hunham (Paul Giamatti), who also wishes he was anywhere else. As the break becomes lonelier the two come to understand each other and also form a bond with the school’s head chook, Mary (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), who is dealing with her own tragedy. Set in the early to mid-70s, the material seems somewhat familiar but also brims with a nostalgic quality Payne hasn’t really attempted before. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. If you loved “Wonder Boys” or “Dead Poets Society” (or let alone seen those films) we’re gonna guess this one’s for you.
The specialty division also screened what we believe is a new trailer for Anderson’s “Asteroid City” which was quite similar to the first with, perhaps, just a bit more of Tilda Swinton’s character. That film will screen in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in just a few weeks.
Notably, Focus did not take the time to push the highly anticipated “Book Club: The Next Chapter” which arrives in theaters on May 12.
