Director Watch Ep. 45 – ‘On the Rocks’ (Sofia Coppola, 2020)

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema’s greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you’ve got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love. On episode 45 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by Oscar Wild co-host and film critic Nick Ruhrkraut to discuss the next film in their Sofia Coppola series, On the Rocks (2020).

We needed places to escape to during the COVID-19 lockdown of 2020, and leave it to Sofia Coppola to deliver an easy, breezy father-daughter hang out movie. On the Rocks not only feature fantastic chemistry between Rashida Jones and Bill Murray, but it has Coppola going back to the ideas she explored within the beginning of her career; the relationship she had with her father and where she is at currently in life as an artist as well as a parent and a spouse. What she delivers is a hilarious, insightful look at someone’s life who is seeking too much instead of appreciating the good things they have in front of them. Ryan, Jay, and Nick break down their reactions to the film, Bill Murray’s charm, Rashida Jones’s career, what it’s like to pal around in New York City, where this ranks in Coppola’s filmography, and if they’d like to see this story continue or not.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h45m. The guys will be back next week to conclude their series on the films of Sofia Coppola with a review of her most recent film, Priscilla. You can stream the film on MAX, as well as rent it via iTunes and Amazon Prime rental in preparation for the next episode of Director Watch. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro)