Honey Non!

I thought this movie was absolutely fantastic, that I was watching something truly great and original: a modern-day noir with a great star performance at its center, a top-notch supporting cast, crackling dialogue, and perfect art direction. But it also contains lots over-the-top violence and unapologetic lesbian sex scenes. It certainly had my attention! Then it just abruptly ended with nothing resolved! What happened? What was the point? This was when we needed the old studio system where the producer would step in and demand rewrites and shooting additional footage that clarified things. This was a heartbreakingly wasted opportunity to do something great. Up until the "ending," I was ready to rate this one at least an 8, but I'm being kind to give it a 5. Sad. HONEY DON'T could have been great.

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.

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.

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."