Written by Robert Scucci | Published
Whenever I stumble upon a dark neo-noir comedy with a promising cast, I want it to succeed. I love the hard-boiled secret eye nursing two fingers of bourbon before following a trail that, more often than not, uncovers a larger conspiracy unfolding in their neighborhoods, ignored the entire time they live and work there. in 2025 Honey don’t it works equally well in this line, and the talent attached to it is undeniable.
Directed by Ethan Coen, who shared the screenplay with Tricia Cooke as part of their “Lesbian B-movie trilogy”, Honey don’t has a stacked cast, including Margaret Qualley, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Evans, Charlie Day, Kristen Connolly, and Talia Ryder. The on-screen chemistry is a major selling point of the film. Clever sarcasm dominates the dialogue, and the jokes land more often than not. Running gags connect the main characters, and are shot in a way that any fan of the Coen brothers can appreciate.
The problem with Honey don’t that it is not stuck in the landing. The abrupt ending left me wanting more time with these characters because they are so fun to be around.
Toch Notch Characterization, Hence Conspiracy
Honey don’t it benefits from acting because everyone brings their A game. We are introduced to Honey O’Donahue (Margaret Qualley), a private investigator from Bakersfield, California who is called to a car accident that appears to be staged. Homicide detective Marty Metakawich (Charlie Day) is surprised to see him at the scene.
Both suspect foul play, but the real red flag for Honey is that the victim, Mia Novotny (Kara Petersen), was a client who may have called the day before and then disappeared. Marty questions Honey, and she replies that she likes girls, an exchange repeated throughout the film.
Meanwhile, megachurch cult leader Reverend Drew Devlin (Chris Evans) is seen exchanging large sums of money with Chére (Lera Abova), his French liaison in a drug-trafficking operation who appears at the scene of the accident in the film’s opening before the authorities arrive. Drew almost always sleeps with the younger female members of his congregation and is constantly interrupted by his friends during sexual activities he calls “affairs.”
Not knowing yet how this all fits together, Honey starts digging with the help of her cop friend and love interest, MG Falcone (Aubrey Plaza), but is constantly distracted by her older sister, Heidi (Kristen Connolly), whose teenage daughter, Corinne (Talia Ryder), keeps getting into trouble. When Corinne goes missing, Honey begins to wonder if the ads with Pastor Drew’s face plastered all over town have anything to do with her disappearance, and the suspicious circumstances surrounding Mia’s death.
Feels Like Rushed Work, But Still Fun Work
I really wanted to Honey don’t to succeed because it has all the trappings of a rock-solid neo-noir crime comedy. The charisma of the characters almost pops off the screen, and there are so many zingers that you almost forget that there is no way this mystery gets a clean resolution. Clocking in at 89 minutes, I can’t help but wonder if there’s a director’s cut that spends too much time on each character’s motivations, or if a quick ending was always the plan.
While Honey don’t is the second part of a “trilogy” that Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke are working on, it’s not a trilogy in the traditional sense of continuity, but a whole. Its predecessor, 2024 Driving Dollsalso stars Margaret Qualley, but it’s set in a different time and place, and she’s not playing Honey O’Donahue there. In other words, this is not a quick conclusion that will be resolved in a direct sequel as far as I know. There was a definite ending, and there is some closure here, just not the kind I wanted.
However, Honey don’t it’s a very entertaining film that doesn’t take itself too seriously. I would watch it again without a doubt because its neo-noir aesthetic, acting, and comedic timing are so close. I just wish it didn’t fail so badly in the third act.
As of this writing, Honey don’t is streaming on Netflix.
