PHOTO BY WILSON WEBB / FOCUS FEATURES

The madcap comedy “Drive-Away Dolls” tears across the screen like a tornado, demolishing expectations with the same delightful verve it uses to summarily dismiss its wet-blanket villains. This is not a movie about hardship and difficulty; this is a movie about how some people are just so cool that they can’t fail.

Even if they have to endure a crime movie — that becomes a road movie — to get to the romance at the end.

Devil-may-care Jamie (Margaret Qualley) and tightly wound Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan) are both bound for Tallahassee; Marian wants a break from the daily indignities of her life and plans to visit an aunt, while Jamie has just been dumped by melodramatic cop Sukie (Beanie Feldstein) and needs a cathartic road trip. The duo rents a car for cheap, only to discover there’s been a tragic error; they inadvertently drove off in a vehicle containing some very sensitive contraband. Now, a network of ill-equipped goons is on their tail.

The adventure will involve brief appearances by some big names — Pedro Pascal, Colman Domingo, Matt Damon and Miley Cyrus among them — and a winding journey south, wherein Marian’s sensible plans are repeatedly shaken up by Jamie’s joie de vivre.

That’s before they discover what’s in the case. Or what’s in the hatbox beneath the case. Or get the volleyball team involved. And no one expected a Senator to show up.

It’s a story that only works with genuinely charismatic performers, and “Drive-Away Dolls” has some of the coolest young actors on the planet. Viswanathan, who broke out in the underrated 2018 comedy “Blockers,” is as funny as she is commanding, an effortlessly compelling screen presence. Feldstein spends the entire film trying to make you hate her; you can’t, though, because her comedic timing is just too powerful. Qually — most recognizable for “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” but a fixture in indie flicks including “Seberg” and “Sanctuary” — exudes cool in her every motion, affecting a charming Southern accent as instantly iconic as that adopted by Frances McDormand in “Fargo.”

That’s a deliberate comparison. “Drive-Away Dolls” is directed and co-written, with Tricia Cooke, by Ethan Coen. Along with brother Joel, Coen crossed over from outre indie darling to mainstream hitmaker with “Fargo,” which was nominated for seven Academy Awards. That film seemed to prove that the Coens could play to the masses; “Drive-Away Dolls,” the first narrative feature Coen has made without his brother, seems to say that the duo’s signature tone and humor can exist even without both halves of the duo present. (This may be due in part to the presence of Cooke, a longtime collaborator.)

As much as it’s a triumph of direction and writing, though, it’s indelible for its performances. Marian and Jamie are an instantly indelible duo, a Butch and Sundance for the raging ’20s — even if the film is set in 1999. No one will only watch “Drive-Away Dolls” once. You’ll want to hang out with these two much more often than that.

My Rating: 9/10

“Drive-Away Dolls” is now playing in theaters.