2025 ‧ Black Comedy/Neo-Noir ‧ 89m
Ethan Coen releases his second solo effort in a planned trilogy, Honey, Don’t! Much like his previous Drive-Away Dolls, Margaret Qualley stars in what Coen calls a “lesbian B-movie.”
The film opens with a woman walking down to a fatal car accident near Bakersfield, CA. The woman takes a ring off the deceased driver’s finger and leaves. The police come and the homicide detective (Charlie Day) calls in a private investigator, Honey O’Donahue (Qualley). Leaning toward accident or possible suicide, he asks if the driver was a client of hers. Honey says no and leaves the scene. It is true that the driver, a woman named Mia Novotny, was not Honey’s client. Yet. She had a meeting set up with Honey later that day. Honey proceeds to investigate into Mia’s murder and finds herself dealing with a sex-crazed reverend (Chris Evans), a new lover (Aubrey Plaza), and missing niece (Tailia Ryder).
As expected with either Coen brother, the sense of humor is one of the film’s strengths. It is wry and wonderfully bizarre, but it still has the dark crime edge. Honey Don’t! is more Burn After Reading and Raising Arizona than Fargo. The setting adds to the humor. Coen does a fine job of making Bakersfield seem hot, boring, but also a profoundly strange place. The characters are fun to watch and the music complements the action and whimsy well. Qualley’s performance is quite good as the titular private investigator. Coen wrote this with his wife, Tricia Cooke, who edits this and worked on many Coen brothers’ films in the past. They are trying for a certain tone, the aforementioned “lesbian b-movie,” and generally succeed. It will not be to everyone’s taste, but if one goes in with the right mindset, they will find much to like here.
The film’s weaknesses, however, are in the central mystery. There are many red herrings, plot points that do not follow through, and the third act is almost non-existent. It would seem rushed, but it is possible that Cooke and Coen are being subversive, actively going against neo-noir expectations. There is an element of satire to that, and it is somewhat clever and amusing, however that does not make the final product particularly satisfying. It feels lacking as the credits roll. Like the film was a condensation of a short season of a television series in 89 minutes.
There are fun elements in Honey, Don’t! but it does not fully gel into a cohesive film. It is enjoyable, but winds up disappointing.
Grade: C-
~Andrew