Honey Don’t! (2025) Focus/Comedy-Thriller RT: 89 minutes Rated R (strong sexual content, graphic nudity, some strong violence, language) Director: Ethan Coen Screenplay: Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke Music: Carter Burwell Cinematography: Ari Wegner Release date: August 22, 2025 (US) Cast: Margaret Qualley, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Evans, Charlie Day, Lera Abova, Jacnier, Gabby Beans, Talia Ryder, Kristen Connolly, Josh Pafchek, Don Swayze, Lena Hall, Alexander Carstoiu, Kale Browne, Christian Antidormi, Billy Eichner, Kinna McInroe, Sean Dillingham, Jude Atencio, Sean Philip Glasgow, Donny Ness, Gloria Sandoval, Gregg Binkley, Sarah J. Bartholomew, Kara Petersen, Layne Lazor, Grace Lord.
Rating: ***
I predict that Honey Don’t will fail at the box office. No, make that promise. It has nothing to do with it being a good movie or not. I’ll get more into that later. It wasn’t made with mainstream audiences in mind. Most people won’t get it, kind of the same thing that happened with The Big Lebowski during its initial theatrical run. It’s only going to appeal to a limited number of people and even then, they’re more likely to wait for it to hit streaming. Then there’s the lesbian content. If you thought Ethan Coen’s previous film Drive-Away Dolls went heavy on it, wait until you get a load of his second solo outing (sans brother Joel).
I’m going to come right out and tell you that the plot of Honey Don’t is a mess. It’s a noirish comedy-thriller about a female private investigator looking into the death of a young woman. Honey O’Donahue (Qualley, Drive-Away Dolls) knows right away that she didn’t die as a result of a car accident. It’s murder and Honey knows it. The victim was a potential client who had an appointment scheduled for the next day. Obviously, somebody didn’t want her talking about something.
Her investigation leads her to a church run by Reverend Drew Devlin (Evans, Captain America: The First Avenger), a shady type who’s anything but holy. He’s a scumbag. He deals drugs (and has kinky sex with female congregation members. He orders the murder of somebody who could destroy his entire operation. That, of course, goes wrong. The constant blundering of his incompetent people is cause for concern by those he answers to (not God!), a French connection represented by attractive but deadly femme fatale Chere (Abova, Anna).
That’s the basic plot of Honey Don’t. It sounds pretty straightforward, but it’s not. The narrative is all over the damn place Coen introduces several disparate plot threads, some of which go nowhere. The only one of any real importance is the sexual relationship that occurs between Honey and MG (Plaza, Emily the Criminal), a socially awkward police officer who admires the click-clack of Honey’s red heels on the station’s floor. I can’t rightfully say it develops because it really doesn’t. It just kind of happens then takes a weird turn after a couple of trysts.
There’s plenty more going on in Honey Don’t. A clueless doofus of a homicide detective (Day, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) keeps hitting on Honey despite clear evidence of her sexual orientation. Honey’s teenage niece Corinne (Ryder, Dumb Money) goes missing after being assaulted by her abusive jerk of a boyfriend (Carstoiu). There’s a strange old man (Browne, Bloodfist IV) creeping around town. He has a connection to Honey. It’s revealed then dropped completely. There’s also some business about a guy (Eichner, Bros) who wants Honey to find out if his boyfriend is cheating on him.
It’s true that Honey Don’t is a mess with its jumbled storyline and half-baked characters. It meanders yet still manages to not fill in all the blanks. It’s what one might call a shaggy-dog tale. I probably should be panning it, but I can’t do that. I actually like it. It’s film noir with a twisted sensibility. I’d expect nothing less from a Coen working once again with cinematographer Ari Wegner (Drive-Away Dolls) who lovingly captures the dusty, sun-baked streets of Bakersfield in faded hues. The opening credits are especially clever and original.
Qualley continues to show the world why she’s one of the best young actresses in the business right now. She’s so versatile. She plays the cynical, hard-boiled detective to perfection with her quick wit and deadpan line deliveries. Her exchange with Evans in their scene together absolutely crackles with her adamant refusal to be swayed by his oily charms. She’s got his number and isn’t afraid to dial it. Plaza is also quite good as MG. I don’t like to throw it around, but the term “edgy” definitely applies to her. The actress has a sharp edge to her. One look can cut through the most stoic BS artist. She and Qualley have some good scenes together, but the topper is when MG not so discreetly pleasures Honey while they’re sitting at a bar.
Evans displays his darker side as the not-so-good reverend and primary suspect in the murder. He tries to put up a convincing front, but even a sightless person can see he’s a sleaze. That’s what makes his character funny. He’s the poster child for self-delusion. Abova is alluring as the femme fatale. I wish she had a bigger role in the proceedings.
I’ll say this for Honey Don’t. It definitely has sex on the brain. There is plenty of it here, gay and straight. Coen doesn’t hold back either. He pushes the envelope with scenes like the threesome involving Devlin and two sex workers. It’s also quite violent, much of it surprisingly graphic (e.g. a hit and run in a parking lot). Yeah, this movie exists firmly in R territory.
I can see Honey Don’t having some cult potential, especially in the LGBTQ+ community. It’s fun in a very, very warped way. It’s not as good as Drive-Away Dolls (which I’ve seen three times now), but it has enough good points that you can forgive it its flaws.
