So I watched Honey Don’t! by Ethan Coen (co-written with Tricia Cooke), and honestly, I think this is another really awful film by him. After Drive-Away Dolls last year, which people also didn’t love, this one just doesn’t fix what was wrong before.
The main problem is the story. The plot is all over the place, there are murder mysteries, missing nieces, cults and bad sexual side plots, but none of it fits together in a satisfying way.
It feels like a bunch of half-baked ideas thrown in without any strong backbone. On top of that, the tone keeps shifting. Sometimes it tries to be dark comedy, sometimes horror, sometimes sleazy pulp, sometimes a detective movie. The constant mood swings make it hard to enjoy.
The characters don’t help much either. The leads, Margaret Qualley and Aubrey Plaza, have roles that feel under-written. Even when the actors give solid performances, the script doesn’t give them enough to work with. A lot of the sex, violence and cult imagery feels like it’s there just to shock, but it doesn’t mean much, so it ends up empty.
That said, the cast is probably the one saving grace. Qualley brings some energy and Plaza adds her usual quirky charm. A few scenes are stylish or funny in flashes, and at least the runtime is short, so it doesn’t drag forever. But those small positives aren’t enough to cover the film’s messy core.
Overall, Honey Don’t! feels like a movie that wants to be edgy and cool but doesn’t know how to tell a solid story. It’s flashy, loud, and sometimes entertaining in moments, but mostly it’s frustrating. After Drive-Away Dolls, I was hoping Coen would bounce back, but this just feels like another misstep.