Honey Don't!

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.

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.

I was eagerly anticipating this film. Finally saw it yesterday and almost walked out to demand a refund. It was a snooze fest, literally. I dosed off several times. The number of empty seats in the theatre was an indication of what I should have expected. Frankly, they should have just made it a porn flick instead of whatever this is. Don't bother seeing this. It's awful.

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.

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."