Honey Don’t! directed by Ethan Coen, relies completely on the delicious chemistry between Honey (Margaret Qualley) and MG (Aubrey Plaza) to distract from the fumblingly disappointing plotline of the film…and it almost works. The casting is wonderful: both leads are magnetic, and their joint scenes steamy. Their relationship is by far the most compelling reason to continue watching.
The film is a dark comedy thriller, following Private investigator Honey O’Donahue as she becomes enmeshed in a series of murders linked to a cultish church. Unfortunately, the plot is somehow simultaneously too busy and plodding. We are given no fleshed-out characters, and so, whilst the film is flooded with violence and sex, we have very little emotional stake. The messy collection of subplots feels random, unconnected, and ultimately unresolved by a rushed twist ending.
Upon wracking my brains for any depth to the film, I suppose there is an attempt to explore the hypocrisy of Christianity through the sleazy reverend Drew Devlin (Chris Evans). But for me, having the cult uniform be a white tunic with leather BDSM lingerie underneath was a little too on the nose. Most of his scenes bordered on slapstick, which was unsettling when coupled with graphic and exploitative sex scenes. The film also involved themes of domestic violence, which I felt was not particularly handled with clarity or tact.
On a more positive note, the film was visually striking. The vintage-inspired colour palette was complemented by Honey’s ’70s-style wardrobe, both of which were stunning. Frustratingly, this was undermined by overtly modern references to Trump and COVID-19, which felt jarring and distracting. This clash continued throughout, such as when Honey calls the Police Chief on a landline phone, and he answers with what looks like an iPhone 15. Rather than being playful and ironic, this disrupted an already difficult-to-follow narrative.
All in all, the film is enjoyable in parts, despite the bizarre plot, but I’d struggle to recommend it to anyone who wasn’t there for Aubrey Plaza.
“Margaret Qualley at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival 03” by Gabriel Hutchinson is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.