Honey Don’t! (2025) Review!!

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

My Take – For years, the Coen brothers (Joel Coen and Ethan Coen) withheld the status of a duo that made some of the best features out there. A creative fusion that lasted due to the level of intellectual and creative chemistry they both brought to their films (Fargo, The Big Lebowski) that spanned across many genres and styles.

But since their split, Joel Coen has gone to direct the well-received but drab adaptation of The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021), while Ethan Coen, along with his longtime partner and co-writer Tricia Cooke, has been working on what has been dubbed “the lesbian B-film trilogy”. His latest, which acts as the second installment, following the unsurprisingly fun but disappointing venture that was 2024’s Drive-Away Dolls, aims squarely at the smoky intrigue of neo-noir, layering its pulp sensibilities with a dark comedic edge.

And though it plays more like a pilot episode of a series than a contained feature, on general terms, it is a step up from Coen and Cooke’s previous effort. Resulting in a stylish but frustrating experience that works somewhat like a playful homage and muddled crime saga that never quite finds its footing.

Sure, it is an admirable attempt to experiment with genre, pushing queer women into the traditionally masculine world of noir, and the film’s commitment to that mission is exciting, but the execution is simply uneven. Where a tighter film would have built toward a slow-burn revelation, this one is juggling so many tones and subplots that its central investigation just never generates the necessary intrigue and tension.

Indeed, I root for the brothers as talented individuals, but as someone who loves their earlier work, a project like this is likely to leave fans hoping for them to reunite already.

The story follows Honey O’Donahue (Margaret Qualley), a no-nonsense private investigator, who finds himself called to a car crash site by bumbling police detective Marty (Charlie Day), only to find that the victim was a client she was about to meet about a potential case.

Convinced that it was no simple accident, Honey begins to probe into the death and with the help of her police officer lover, MG (Aubrey Plaza), something which leads her to the church of Reverend Drew Devlin (Chris Evans), a charismatic but depraved figure whose shady dealings embroil her in a web of sex, violence, and corruption.

Here, co-writers Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke set out to build a world that feels both seedy and heightened, rooted in noir conventions but skewed by deadpan humor and queer subversion. And for stretches, the film delivers.

The film’s script is mostly sharp, showcasing that trademark Coen brother’s dry, unpredictable charm and violence. The characters are quirky, but not overly so, and some of the exchanges between them go to some wonderfully unexpected places, delivering laughs and thrills throughout.

But what starts out as an effective neo-noir story culminates in an unsatisfying third act that is deeply underwhelming and disjointed. Plot threads and characters are left underutilized or are abruptly taken from the story to the point where it feels incomplete.

The film works best when it’s at its most playful with the cinematography and characters, even within this mess of a murder mystery. However, it just doesn’t do it enough to elevate the underwritten nature of the characters. Honey comes equipped with all the basic traits of your standard noir detective: tough, mysterious, dark past and armed with one-liners, without anything of substance to add beyond that to make her worth rooting for.

Any attempts at character development are brought up and ignored within the same scene. Most frustratingly, there is a brief subplot involving her abusive father that is given one scene before being tossed aside, the implications left unexplored, and it’s never brought up again, despite being fairly key to the events of the third act.

Thankfully, the performances are up to the mark. Margaret Qualley proves once again that she’s one of the most compelling young actors working today. A truly captivating actress who can effortlessly transition between comedy and drama, while still convincingly delivering a punch when necessary. Aubrey Plaza is in her deadpan lane that we know her for, while also getting some dramatic scenes to chew on herself. The two have an electric chemistry together, and their shared scenes are some of the film’s finest.

Chris Evans, in a rare turn away from clean-cut hero roles, clearly relishes the chance to play sleazy. He gets to straddle his charm with just enough menace to make him an effective antagonist. Charlie Day’s running gag throughout the film of hitting on Honey despite her being a lesbian means she can’t date him, is funny. On the whole, ‘Honey Don’t!‘ is a messy but intermittently fun experience anchored by Margaret Qualley‘s performance.