‘Honey Don’t’ Review: Honey Stop Making These Movies

Ethan Coen seems to be aiming for the worst movie of the year with 2025’s Honey Don’t. The film follows small-town private detective Honey O’Donahue as she investigates a string of deaths that seem to all lead to one place. Honey Don’t is the second film of Ethan Coen’s Lesbian B-Movie Trilogy, following the disappointing Drive-Away Dolls, and does not do anything of value to the flawed trilogy. There is no connection between the two films other than the lesbian main characters and the fact that they are just not very good. The only shining star of both of these films are the cast, which in the case of Honey Don’t consists of Margaret Qualley, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Evans, Lera Abova, and Talia Ryder, who, for the most part, leave the film unscathed. Unfortunately, despite its award-winning director and amazing cast, Honey Don’t is messy, unfinished, and inauthentic. Read our full review for Honey Don’t below. 

I want to quickly get the positives out of the way, because there are very few. First off, Margaret Qualley is brilliant as usual. She is so captivating in everything she does and Honey Don’t is no exception. I think if the film was better directed, we could appreciate everything she does for it even more. The other actor that I think really stood out was Chris Evans. Evans plays the kooky pastor of a cult-like church. I truly believe that Chris Evans is a great actor when he is working outside of the MCU, and this year’s Materialists and now Honey Don’t show that. I really appreciate when Chris Evans gets to play an eccentric character, reminiscent of his performances in movies like Scott Pilgrim, Knives Out, and Not Another Teen Movie. The only negative of his performance is that it was never given a proper conclusion. One moment he is there, and the next thing you know, we don’t get to see him for the rest of the movie. He is given an unfinished narrative and it left me wanting more of him. The only other positive is that the film looks good most of the time. Has some bright cinematography and all the crafts are perfectly acceptable. Other than the framing of the characters, which was embarrassing at times, the visual style of the film is satisfying. 

Now for the bad. To say I am disappointed in this film would be an understatement. These “lesbian B movies” that Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke chose to make are incredibly inauthentic and off-putting. I am not a person to say “This movie was obviously written by a man,” because I think men have written beautiful films about women and it can be used as a cop-out for some people to not have to actually dive into what is wrong with a film, but ‘Honey Don’t’ almost got me to say it. There is a voyeuristic, and for lack of a better word, male gazy feel to this film. There are multiple sex scenes that feel as though the writers were uncaring, uneducated, and uninterested in what it actually means to be women having these relations. It goes into the category of films like Blue is the Warmest Color or Ammonite that have graphic depictions of lesbian relationships that felt exploitative. There are so many other films that are more interesting and sexier when it comes to lesbian relationships. So watch Dessert Hearts, Bound, Love Lies Bleeding, or literally any other movie out there. I hope that this Lesbian B-Movie Trilogy that Ethan Coen was planning is cut short. I do not want another one. Drive-Away Dolls and Honey Don’t are so bad that I am starting to think that Joel Coen was carrying the rest of the duo’s work. 

Other than the horrible representation of a group that already doesn’t get enough representation, Honey Don’t is horribly written. Plot holes, unfinished narratives, inconsistent character choices, and so much more make this movie almost unwatchable. Even if you are really into the film for the first hour, the last thirty minutes will most likely turn you off of it. They tried to do a big twist that does not feel earned. I could not help but laugh at the end in disbelief that it was actually over. That was it. I can’t believe that an Oscar-winning writer wrote part of this. I can’t even seem to find a point to these movies. It does not seem to care about the sexuality it is trying to depict. It’s not even a proper B-movie because it has a 20-million-dollar budget with well-known actors, and it does nothing narratively that is interesting enough for anyone to care. I plead with you, Ethan Coen, stop making these movies. 

Honey Don’t was directed by Ethan Coen and written by him and Tricia Cooke. The film stars Margaret Qualley, Aubrey Plaza, and Chris Evans. Honey Don’t was released on August 22nd.

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