Honey Don't!

L would have traded some of the sex for some plot development. I wanted to care but couldn't. Some funny moments. Life in a trailer home, The wicked pastor. But what was the movie about? I don't know. Great scenery as our leading lady cruises around the starkness of the city that could be anywhere USA.

The movie had all the ingredients but came out as dull as grandma's green jello.

Well the trailer made it look pretty intriguing, but upon watching this latest effort from half of the Coen Brothers (Ethan), I'm afraid it's another disappointing bust!

I actually found it rather apt that gorgeous rising star lead Margaret Qualley has a bemused, confused look on her face throughout the entire flick... because I felt exactly the same!

While the piece retains some well known Coen hallmarks (good cinematography, sharp editing, decent music and many typically oddball characters), it seriously lacks more important elements. The usual dark humour is sorely lacking, the dialogue isn't as sharp, the script is a mess and the final pay-off is a major letdown.

Indeed, only Qualley and Aubrey Plaza come out of the overly woke sexually charged Coen-carnage with any performance credibility, while a miscast Chris Evans and the rest of the supporting cast are as hollow and throwaway as the lacklustre screenplay.

In truth, it's been far too long since either of the brothers have hit a 'HoF' homerun (No Country for Old Men in 2007!), and this is yet another strikeout for the undenable Hollywood legends who hardly put a foot wrong between 1984-2001! We live in hope (barely) of another 'Barton Fink', 'O Brother Where Art Thou' or 'Fargo' but I think it's been way too long now, they're done... Sad times.

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."

Hate to say it but this one was a total letdown. The cast is stacked and the vibes could have been amazing, but the story just went in too many directions instead of owning one lane. Chris evans as a slimeball pastor had me cracking up, charlie day kept giving me sunny conspiracy board flashbacks (probably just me lol), and honestly both aubrey plaza and margaret qualley were made for their hot, classy, sultry detective/cop roles. They completely delivered - it was the storyline, not the characters, that didn't add up. And look, while the coen brothers' breakup has blessed us with some spectacular sapphic scenes (hi, aubrey and margaret being absurdly hot together), it's also proof that his wife's touch might bring the spice but the boys really do their best work as a band of brothers. The whole thing ended up feeling messy and dragged way too long. BUT i'd still happily pay again just to rewatch that aubrey x margaret market scene because wow... chef's kiss, dangerously hot.

I just finished watching Honey Don't, and honestly, I left the theater scratching my head. The whole experience was a strange mix of sad, pointless, and-if I'm being blunt-sometimes flat-out boring. It felt like the film was trying to say something profound, but the tone was so off that it missed its mark entirely.

I truly don't know what audience they were aiming for. Too heavy-handed to be light drama, too scattered to be meaningful, and too dull to be entertaining. Characters drifted through scenes without much purpose, and while the story had the bones of something emotional, it never built to anything worth caring about.

The pacing didn't help either. There were long stretches where I caught myself checking the time, waiting for something-anything-to happen. Instead, it kept circling back to the same dreary mood that never paid off.

In the end, I can see why the studio released this movie in the dead zone of late August, right before Labor Day weekend. It feels like one of those "let's just get it out there and move on" kind of releases. Honey Don't isn't the worst film I've ever seen, but it's definitely one I won't be remembering-or recommending-anytime soon.