Film Review: Honey Don't!
She Only Has Two Desires, And One Of Them Is Justice
INTRODUCTION
This is a quick review of the newly released film Honey Don’t!. Please note that this is just one of the many movies I will have watched each year, and my initial grade for this film may change over time, for better or worse. To stay up to date on my thoughts about other movies and any potential changes in my opinion on this one, follow me on Letterboxd.
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PLOT
Via Letterboxd: Honey O’Donahue, a small-town private investigator, delves into a series of strange deaths tied to a mysterious church.
REVIEW
Since 2021, Joel and Ethan Coen, better known simply as the Coen brothers, have not worked together on directing a new film. For a duo responsible for some of the greatest and most impactful films in cinema history, it feels almost blasphemous. Together they’ve given us a Best Picture winner in No Country for Old Men and another that came close (and, in hindsight, probably should’ve won) in Fargo.
The Coens’ work has always spanned genres; from introspective, critically acclaimed dramas to quirky black comedies that have seen more mixed success. Since their separation, Joel gave us The Tragedy of Macbeth, a stripped-down yet great Shakespeare adaptation that earned Oscar recognition. It was one of my personal favorite films of 2021, and notably the first ever Best Picture winner from Central Florida Critics’ regional awards body.
Meanwhile, Ethan partnered with screenwriter and producer Tricia Cooke to co-write and direct what they’re billing as a trilogy of “B-movie lesbian films.” The first, last year’s Drive-Away Dolls, followed two lesbian friends-turned-lovers on the run after stumbling into criminal mishaps. Reception was mixed; I found it generally fine, if unremarkable. It’s lower-tier Coen work, though not completely unwatchable, and certainly not as unlikable as their weaker films for me. I never got around to giving it a full written review here, so I figured I’d make sure to give that courtesy to its follow-up.
That brings us to Honey Don’t, the second entry in the trilogy. The film once again stars rising talent Margaret Qualley (returning from Drive-Away Dolls), joined by Aubrey Plaza, Chris Evans, and Charlie Day. This time the story presents itself as a dark comedy noir about a lesbian private detective investigating a mysterious car accident that spirals into further strange deaths and criminal conspiracies.
At least, that’s the setup. The problem is the screenplay can’t decide what story it wants to tell. With a runtime barely scraping past ninety minutes (including credits), the film tries to juggle too many threads at once, often feeling like the script was being written as shooting went along.
The result is a messy narrative where characters never get room to breathe, the central mystery quickly becomes muddled, and filler scenes, particularly the obligatory “hot people in bed” interludes, add little to the story’s progression. Instead of enriching the noir sensibility, they come off as unnecessary distractions.
I’d bet the cast knew the story was a mess while making it, but to their credit, Qualley, Plaza, Evans, and Day still do their best. Their performances, combined with the film’s slick noir aesthetic, almost manage to elevate the material. And thanks to the tight runtime, I can’t say I was bored, even if I felt detached from the characters.
A part of me wanted to give this a low C-tier grade, but there are glimpses of something better buried in here, enough that I landed on a super soft C+. Still, the messy script sinks it, leaving Honey Don’t in the running for the most forgettable (and perhaps worst) film to come from either brother so far.
GRADING
