Honey Don't (2025)
π¬ Honey Don’t! (2025) – Full Movie Review
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| Theatrical Release Poster |
π£ Quick Information:
- π¬ Movie Name: Honey Don’t! (2025)
- π Release Date: August 22, 2025 (USA)
- π World Premiere: May 24, 2025 at the Cannes Film Festival (Midnight Screenings section)
- ⭐ Genre: Dark Comedy, Crime, Neo-Noir, Queer Mystery
- π Runtime: 89 minutes
- π₯ Director: Ethan Coen
- ✍️ Writers: Ethan Coen, Tricia Cooke
- π΅ Music: Carter Burwell
- π Main Cast:
- Margaret Qualley as Honey O’Donahue
- Chris Evans as Reverend Drew Devlin
- Aubrey Plaza as MG
- Charlie Day as Marty
- Gabby Beans, Talia Ryder, Billy Eichner, Don Swayze
- π Rating: R (Strong language, nudity, sexual content, and violence)
π Cast Breakdown
- Margaret Qualley plays Honey O’Donahue, a quirky, fearless private eye investigating cult crimes. Her performance is energetic, filled with deadpan humor and emotional nuance.
- Aubrey Plaza portrays MG, a sarcastic and loyal police officer. The chemistry between MG and Honey adds a romantic queer subtext that elevates the movie beyond simple genre expectations.
- Chris Evans gives a chilling performance as Reverend Drew Devlin, a manipulative cult leader who hides malice behind a smile.
- Charlie Day brings awkward energy as Detective Marty, adding levity to tense scenes.
Supporting actors like Gabby Beans (Spider), Talia Ryder (Corinne), and Billy Eichner round out the bizarre cast of desert eccentrics, followers, and victims.
π Plot Overview
Set in a dusty Southwestern town, Honey Don’t! follows Honey O’Donahue, a self-assured private investigator with a taste for chaos and a bold fashion sense. When a series of strange deaths and disappearances point to a local desert-based cult, Honey dives deep into a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with Reverend Drew Devlin, the magnetic and menacing church leader.
As Honey investigates, she teams up with MG, a local cop with her own disdain for Devlin’s false righteousness. Together, the pair unravel secrets hidden beneath the cult’s desert chapel, exposing manipulation, buried trauma, and repressed desire.
The mystery spirals into chaos with abrupt tonal shifts—from bloody violence to erotic flirtation to surreal humor—creating a jarring, genre-blurring experience. The story blends neo-noir narrative style with feminist revenge and queer liberation, laced with Coen-style dialogue and irony.
π₯ Fan Buzz
At its Cannes premiere, the film received a 6½-minute standing ovation, though some critics noted its divisive tone and minimalist visuals. Margaret Qualley’s confident performance and flamboyant fashion made her a red carpet highlight, and early reviews praised the film’s queer-positive representation.
The trailer’s cheeky lines—especially Honey’s quip, “And you haven’t even seen the riddle tattoo on my ass”—sparked meme culture moments across X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, and Instagram.
Sapphic fans were quick to celebrate the onscreen chemistry between Honey and MG, dubbing them “the noir lesbian icons we’ve been waiting for.”
π¬ Fun Facts
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Ethan Coen returns solo: After years collaborating with his brother Joel, Ethan Coen goes fully independent with this film, paired with his wife and co-writer Tricia Cooke.
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Queer Camp Trilogy: Honey Don’t! is the second film in their so-called “lesbian B-movie” trilogy, following Drive-Away Dolls (2024) and preceding Go Beavers.
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Filming location: Shot entirely in Albuquerque, New Mexico, between March and May 2024.
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Costumes by April Napier, known for Lady Bird and Eighth Grade, who created the vintage-glam look Honey rocks throughout the film.
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Music by Carter Burwell, longtime Coen collaborator, whose eerie, playful score adds tension to quiet desert nights.
π Marketing Strategy
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Trailer Launch (May 7, 2025): The trailer leaned into raunchy wit, showcasing the “PI vs. preacher” verbal jabs and hinting at mystery with seductive undercurrents.
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Cannes Premiere Buzz: Premiering at Cannes Midnight section built prestige and curiosity. Critics labeled it “Ethan Coen’s weirdest film yet.”
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Queer-Centric Campaigns: Targeted LGBTQ+ film forums, podcasts, and indie festivals. Stickers, GIFs, and satirical social videos pushed viral traction in niche circles.
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Cross-Promo with Drive-Away Dolls: Easter eggs and teaser cameos connected the two films, exciting returning fans.
π¬ Behind-the-Scenes
π₯ Direction
Ethan Coen dives into unfiltered indie mode here. The tone is purposely raw, offbeat, and risk-taking—far removed from polished prestige dramas. His wife, Tricia Cooke, co-writes and co-produces, creating a sense of personal flair in both characters and story.
π Cinematography
Ari Wegner crafts a dreamy but dusty landscape: wide open spaces, low-angle sun, and washed-out neon motels. The visuals pay homage to Fargo, Raising Arizona, and 70s exploitation cinema.
π Cast Energy
Actors reportedly improvised many scenes. Margaret Qualley described Honey as “a woman who flirts with danger—and women—with equal confidence.” Aubrey Plaza said her “favorite scenes were where nothing made sense.”
Chris Evans plays against type, pulling off chilling charisma in a cult-leader role.
✂️ Deleted Scenes (Reported or Rumored)
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Extended Honey–MG Backstory: Early cuts included more flashbacks of MG’s trauma and Honey’s failed past cases. These scenes were trimmed for pacing.
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Dream Sequence: One deleted scene involved Honey having a surreal vision of a desert snake speaking in Devlin’s voice—a metaphor for manipulation.
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MG’s Confession: An emotionally raw scene of MG admitting to her abusive upbringing was removed, but echoes remain in her body language.
π― Final Verdict
π¬ Critics:
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: ~45% (based on 50+ reviews)
- Praise: Margaret Qualley’s performance, quirky dialogue, LGBTQ+ representation.
- Criticism: Lack of narrative cohesion, thin plot, abrupt tonal shifts.
π¬ Audience:
- Queer Viewers & Indie Fans: Enthusiastically embraced the film’s camp and representation.
- Mainstream audiences: Mixed response—some left confused, others delighted by the absurdity.
π Overall:
Honey Don’t! is not for everyone—but it doesn’t want to be. It’s a quirky, raunchy, politically playful, desert-noir satire that rides the razor’s edge between brilliance and B-movie chaos.
π¬ Additional Reflections
The most polarizing element of Honey Don’t! is its refusal to follow any expected narrative structure. It starts with a mystery, swerves into queer erotica, then dives into psychedelic cult horror—all while Honey breaks the fourth wall with sly glances or exaggerated narrations.
What keeps it grounded is Qualley’s fearless performance. Her portrayal is funny, gutsy, and surprisingly touching. She’s not a typical hero—she’s a hot mess with sharp instincts and a bigger heart than she lets on.
Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke aren’t trying to please critics—they’re playing, experimenting, and celebrating queerness, grit, and genre mishmash.
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