Honey Don't!

Honey Don't (2025) is a neo-noir dark comedy detective movie written and directed by Ethan Coen of the Coen Brothers, it is the second entry in the lesbian B-movie trilogy and it tells the story of a private investigator searching for the killer of several murders that could be tied to a religious church. This was a movie I was excited for since I'm a massive fan of the Coen Brothers, but it is sad for me to say this movie was just okay.

Positives for Honey Don't (2025): The movie does have an interesting premise of this young private investigator searching for the killer while also having to deal with a detective who refuses to believe that she is a lesbian. Margaret Qualley does a great job as Honey O'Donahue and she is one of the reason to watch this movie. I did enjoy the the supporting cast with Aubrey Plaza, Chris Evans, Charlie Day, Kristen Connolly, Billy Eichner, Gabby Beans and Talia Ryder. The main murder mystery is interesting at first with its ties to this church headed by Chris Evans. You still get that Coen western vibe that Ethan and his brother Joel have done very well together. And finally, there are some good action sequences that are decently bloody and I liked it.

Negatives for Honey Don't (2025): This movie barely has a story to tell to its audience. The movie feels like a series of events happening in order, but none of it lands right. The movie is too short to tell a story and it felt like Ethan Coen just wanted to make a lesbian movie without the story. And finally, Charlie Day got on my nerves as he refuses to accept that Margaret Qualley is a lesbian and I wanted to knock him out.

Overall, Honey Don't is a serviceable enough detective movie with a great cast, but it falls short of what Ethan Coen is known for doing when he is at his best.

After over thirty years directing movies together, Joel and Ethan Coen started making movies separately. Ethan has now released the second entry in a lesbian trilogy (full disclosure: I haven't yet seen the first entry). "Honey Don't!" casts Margaret Qualley as a detective investigating a strange death in Bakersfield, and trying to find out who in town is involved.

As per his style, Coen creates a number of quirky characters, and people end up dead in some unusual ways. Where the movie falters is in effectively tying everything together; much of it seems as if Coen and co-writer Tricia Cooke came up with several different ideas for movies and combined them into a neo-noir with erotic transitions.

Overall, I did like it. Despite the obvious shortcomings - and there are a few - it's not the Coens' worst by any measure; that dishonor belongs to "Inside Llewyn Davis" (which lacked character development and any attempt to look at the historical context). Qualley, along with Aubrey Plaza, Charlie Day and Chris Evans give us some fine performances.

Just about every scene from the trailer that lured us to the theatre was bogged down with emotionless, carefree scene-ploitation of Honey's polygamy as the centerpiece. While Margaret's acting isn't lackluster, the supporting motif and cast didn't add anything to this soulless film.

Ultimately, not a great film despite its' old school backdrop, and 1/2 of the Coen brothers in the director's chair (notice the lower case 'D'). At one point during the film, I asked myself if I cared about any of the characters or Honey's plight... My answer was a resounding, "Nope. I don't care about a single character in this empty shell of a film."

Margaret Qualley, who was great in Substance, acts like a private detective from a 50's movie, which was out of place with almost everyone else.

Aubrey Plaza was great in her role, seemed very realistic amongst the other actors.

Chris Evans's character was over acted, which might have been the intent of the director, given other weird choices.

Ethan Coen, is a great director, but really couldn't pull this movie together as it seemed lost as to style or intent. I think he must have decided to throw in the several meaningless sex scenes that didn't advance the plot, to appeal to teenage boys.

All the rest of the actors were way over the top and unrealistic to the point of being a parody almost to Naked Gun level. Thus, there were a few laughs to be had.

Didn't hate it, but will never watch it again and regret paying to see it.

It's a send-up of a 1940s detective noir movie set in 2024 in and around Bakersfield, California. It follows Honey O'Donahue (Margaret Qualley), a lesbian private eye who comes upon a suspicious auto accident, which turns out to be the surface of a complex drug operation and a surprising serial killer. Honey's world includes her sister, Heidi (Kristen Connolly), her niece, Corrine (Talia Ryder), police detective Metakawich (Charlie Day), police officer MG Falcone (Aubrey Plaza), and Rev. Drew (Chris Evans), leader of the Four-Way Temple.

"Honey Don't" includes many Ethan Coen earmarks--all the characters are eccentric, the setting is deliberately confusing with 1940s imagery mixed with 2024 imagery, and the plot jerks the viewer around multiple times. Thus, it's a fun watch for Coen fans, but it feels like the film wasn't fully baked. There are way too many loose ends, and it doesn't feel like a coherent whole at the end. Margaret Qualley is fine for her role; I wish it could have been more complete. Chris Evans provides the other memorable character.