by Jake Bourgeois, Contributing Writer
Ethan Coen may be working with a different partner these days, but as someone who enjoyed Drive-Away Dolls more than most, I was here for the sophomore effort between Coen and his wife, Tricia Cooke — particularly with how much I enjoyed Margaret Qualley in that previous outing.
This trio is back for Honey Don’t!, which follows Qualley as private investigator Honey O’Donahue, who follows a trail of death to the goings on of a local church, led by Chris Evan’s Reverend Drew Devlin, and with the assistance of local cop MG Falcone (Aubrey Plaza). Right from the opening credits, it’s clear that the Coen and Cooke has a quirky tone, one that’s tricky to nail, and they can’t quite pull it off this time.
While quirk is one of those things that’s hard to explain, vis a vis why it works and why it doesn’t, I’ll try my best.
As I’ve tried to catch up on more classic films, I’ve discovered I’m not a huge fan of traditional noirs, and the fact that Honey Don’t! is sort of aping the genre probably didn’t help as it tried to rope me in, but there’s more to it than that. I think at its core, the problem is this film is much more explicit than Dolls (apologies for all the incoming comparisons, but it’s how I know how to verbalize what I’m trying to say about why one worked and the other didn’t). I don’t necessarily mean that sexually, but that is certainly one of the side effects. Honey Don’t! isn’t nearly as clever as it goes about telling its story. There’s nothing really in subtext — everything is surface level, and in a way that didn’t work for me. Everything is much more in your face, and particularly when this movie tries to be funny, I sat there stone-faced.
Another major issue here is Qualley isn’t quite the standout I found her to be in Drive-Away Dolls. Perhaps it’s my anti-noir bias sneaking in again, but there isn’t nearly the charm in her lead performance. Over-the-top accent and all, the previous character was a huge plus, where Honey doesn’t quite captivate me. While I thought on paper Plaza’s deadpan style made perfect sense for this kind of movie, she doesn’t work quite as well in practice. The dynamic between our two female leads falls a little flat, and is probably my biggest disappointment.
The real standout is Evans, who has the best moments as a slimy preacher, though even he doesn’t work 100% of the time. The sermon he gets really nails the sleazy preacher dynamic, even if it is a bit on the nose like the rest of the movie. Charlie Day is an example of why the humor largely does not work for me at all. He basically has two jobs: exclaim that Honey O’Donahue has arrived, and try to get her to agree to go out with him (despite her repeatedly telling him she likes girls). It doesn’t really work the first time, and it really doesn’t work the fifth time.
Aside from our main cast, all of our bit players don’t work either. Which means, when Qualley and Evans aren’t on screen, I need them back as soon as possible.
Aside from the tone and character issues I had, the final disappointment is the conclusion. In a mystery, the ending can make or break you, and this one is a dud. When I realized the route the finale was going, my head hung, and I stared at the screen like a disappointed parent. It’s one of those “twists” that’s thrown in there to try to shock the audience without doing the necessary work to make it make sense.
While this film hasn’t completely soured me on the Coen-Cooke creative partnership (though Drive-Away Dolls certainly wasn’t a financial success, and my solo showing doesn’t bode well for this movie either), it does have me approaching their next team up with a little more caution — particularly if they’re going for a tricky tone trifecta.
Rating: Didn’t Like It
Honey Don’t is currently playing in theaters
You can read more from Jake Bourgeois, and follow him on Bluesky and Letterboxd