42 | FEBRUARY 22 • 2024
J
N

WILD COMEDY RIDE,
ELVIS’ QUEEN, FOOTBALL
STUFF

Drive-Away Girls is a mad-
cap “road” comedy that
opens in theaters on Feb.
23. Here is the capsule plot:
Sukie (Beanie Feldstein),
a police officer and the
lesbian girlfriend of Jamie
(Margaret Qualley), catches
Jamie in bed with another
woman. Soon after, Jamie
invites herself on a road
trip with her friend Marian.
Marian reluctantly agrees to
stop at every major lesbian
bar on the East Coast as
they drive from Philadelphia
to Florida. During the trip,
Jamie gets the pair into
many misadventures.
The large supporting cast
includes Matt Damon as
an evil senator and Joey
Slotnick, 55, as one of a
pair of bumbling criminals.
The film was directed by
Ethan Coen, 66. Of course,
he’s the brother of Joel
Coen, 69, and, for decades
the brothers made films
together. Around 2018, they
decided to make at least
some films “alone.” In 2019,
Joel directed The Tragedy
of MacBeth “alone” and
Drive-Away is Ethan’s first
“alone” feature film.
Drive-Away was co-writ-
ten by Coen and his wife,
Tricia Cooke. They have an
“interesting” marriage. Coen
asked her out not long after
she got a job editing film
(1989) for the brothers. She
declined, telling Ethan she
was a lesbian. However,
they clicked “anyway” and
married in 1990. They have
two children. During their
marriage, they both have
had other romantic partners.
But their marriage, Cooke

says, works for them and
they are close colleagues.
(For almost 30 years, Cooke
edited Coen brothers’ films).
On Feb. 23, Amazon
Prime premieres a come-
dy stand-up special titled
Jenny Slate: Seasoned
Professional. Slate, now 41,
began her showbiz career
as a stand-up (2008) and
has continued doing some
stand-up. She also has had
a few film roles (Obvious
Child) and many series’
parts (Parks and Recreation,
House of Lies, The Kroll
Show).
The bio-pic Priscilla will
begin streaming on HBO/
Max on Feb. 23. It was
under “my radar” when it
opened in a few theaters
last fall. Mostly very good
reviews didn’t move many
to see it.
The film begins with
the meeting of Priscila
Beaulieu, when she was 14,
and Elvis Presley was 24,
and already a huge star. In
1958, when they met, and
flirted, Elvis was in the army
and stationed in Germany.
Priscilla’s father, Capt. Paul
Beaulieu, was a career Air
Force officer stationed in
Germany.
The film covers her par-
ents’ controversial decision
to allow Priscilla, then 16,
to move into Elvis’ grand-
mother’s home, very near

Elvis’ Memphis home. (Elvis’
promise to marry Priscilla
when she turned 18 was a
big factor).They did marry
when she was 18 (1967) and
exactly nine months later,
Priscilla gave birth to Elvis’
only child, Lisa Marie.
The film’s last part cov-
ers their rocky six-year
marriage. It ended with
both parties being serially
unfaithful and Elvis far into
the bad habits (overeating,
drugs) that took his life in
1977.
Ari Cohen, 56, a
Canadian actor with few
American credits, plays
Capt. Beaulieu. Another
Canadian actor, Dan
Abramovici, 30ish, plays
Jerry Schilling, a close
friend of Elvis.
Larry Geller, now 84, is a
film character. This Jewish
guy was Elvis’ hairdresser
for decades and also was
his “spiritual adviser.” He
says that he’s responsible
for Elvis wearing a “Chai”
pendant in the 1970s.
I won’t address the wide-
spread “Elvis is Jewish”
story. Email me via the JN
for my opinion. I will just
note that Riley Keough,
an up-and-coming actress
and the granddaughter of
Priscilla and Elvis, has real
Jewish ancestry (paternal
grandmother was Jewish).
On Feb. 16, Apple TV+

began streaming a 10-part
episode documentary
titled The Dynasty: New
England Patriots. The pub-
licity release says: “It brings
together former quarter-
back Tom Brady, coach Bill
Belichick and owner Robert
Kraft, along with a wide
range of contributors, as
they give the definitive story
of the team’s remarkable
reign.”
As you probably know,
Kraft paid for the ads that
attacked antisemitism
and all forms of hate that
appeared during this year’s
Super Bowl broadcast.
But let me end with a
happy “footballish” foot-
note that proves you can
find a Jewish connection
to anything. I noticed that
Travis Kelce (Taylor Swift’s
sweetie) was surrounded
by cameras at the end of
the Superbowl, and he was
so happy he sang small
parts of two songs: ”Viva
Las Vegas” (the theme for
the Elvis movie) and “You
Have to Fight for Your Right
to Party.” The former was
written by the late, great
Doc Pomus (born Jerome
Felder) and the late Mort
Shuman. “Party” was writ-
ten by, and performed by,
the three (Jewish) Beastie
Boys. (Pomus and the
Beastie Boys are in the
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame).

CELEBRITY NEWS

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

ARTS&LIFE

DANNYB/WIKIPEDIA

Beanie Feldstein

IMDB

Ari Cohen

IMDB

Joey Slotnick