Honey Don't! Movie Review

Honey Don't! (2025)

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Written by: Ethan Coen & Tricia Cooke
Directed by: Ethan Coen
Starring: Margaret Qualley, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Evans, Charlie Day, Billy Eichner
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
A dark comedy about small-town private investigator Honey O'Donahue, who delves into a series of strange deaths tied to a mysterious church.

Verdict
There's no reason the movie should be this bad. I didn't like anything about this movie. While the dialog is overwritten and the characters are under developed, the plot is the biggest disappointment. It initially promises mystery and conspiracies but ultimately delivers nothing. Ethan Coen has been involved in so many good movies, so I have to wonder how or why he released this. The best thing about this movie is that at least it does end at some point.
Skip it.

Review
This is the second movie written by Coen and Cooke with Coen directing. The first was Drive-Away Dolls. 

This initially looks like it's set in the 70s but it is the modern day despite appearances. A character mentions COVID which is how I realized this isn't a period piece. This wants to be film noir, but setting that genre in the modern day creates an odd disconnect with the dialog. The setting and story never quite match with characters talking like this is overwritten.

Margaret Qualley plays Honey

Honey (Margaret Qualley) is a detective in a small town. At a fatal car crash she realizes the victim, Mia, was a prospective client that wanted to meet. Honey investigates this dead body for no reason other than to create a plot for the movie. Honey is not being paid for this, and she never even met the victim.

This introduces a lot of characters. It wants to be humorous or even clever, but it fails to achieve that. Chris Evans plays a self-obsessed minister that may be peddling drugs. Unfortunately Evans is under utilized in the role. There isn't much of a plot. This is a series of scenes strung together resembling a movie.

Chris Evans plays Reverend Drew Devlin

Mia was involved with the church. Did the minister have her killed? Honey knows it wasn't just a traffic accident. We have several characters that are interconnected, but it ultimately feels like a movie that's imitating a Coen brothers movie. The dialog tries hard and doesn't land, attempting one liners and repartee but it just isn't there. This movie is a slog, and I just kept hoping it would end soon. Instead it introduces another subplot to cover for how boring it is.

Honey's romance with MG (Aubrey Plaza) is hasty and forced. It's used to create a circular connection in the plot that's probably secondary to the gratuitous sex scene. 

The resolution of the story is completely unfulfilling. This drops the investigation into the church. Motives remain unclear, and this produces a villain that's similar to someone hastily completing a report they forgot about. The Coen brothers make engrossing and entertaining movies. A single Coen brother is not as strong as the pair. I haven't liked any of the movies developed by a single brother. This isn't the worst movie I've seen this year, but it is the most disappointing due to the expectations for the director.