During writer and director Ethan Coen’s successful run with his brother Joel Coen, there were some bumps along the way, but their consistency was remarkable. After going their separate ways, Tricia Cooke who previously edited a number of the Coen Brothers films, has evolved her collaboration with husband Ethan Coen, co-writing and producing Drive-Away Dolls (2024) and Honey Don’t! the first two films in a planned dark comedy trilogy.
This second instalment revolves around private investigator Honey O’Donahue (Margaret Qualley), who begins to connect a series of deaths after one of her clients turns up dead under suspicious circumstances. It leads her to The Four Way Temple, a church run by Reverend Drew Devlin, who is more of a cult leader than a man of God, and is using the church’s network as a means to distribute drugs.
Honey Don’t! begins by presenting the carefree Honey O’Donahue. She comes across the car wreck, inside of which is her dead client, skinny-dips in a lake and rides a scooter in a leopard skin bra. Then there’s the energetic title sequences to The Animals’ 1965 song, We’ve Gotta Get Out of This Place. Honey Don’t! opens in an engaging enough way and like Drive-Away Dolls, builds itself around queer and independent spirited characters. There’s a spiritual energy to this second instalment, that should live up to the cliché that the sequel is superior to the first movie. Honey Don’t! is beleaguered by problems that positions it as being destined to disappoint.
The razor sharp narrative skill from Ethan Coen’s films with his brother are missing here. It never feels that either Coen or Cooke have a firm handle on the story, that comes across as a decidedly cliché comedy crime drama. Chris Evans is clearly having a rollicking fun time in his role, which comes through in the scenes that show his gluttonous sexual appetite, as well as his narrow window of tolerance for others and bloated ego. But outside of moments, Honey Don’t! struggles to make any kind of notable impression. Instead, we see Ethan Coen humbled after a long string of successes, which is saddening, because he’s one of those filmmakers that has earned our grace and respect. And while O’Donahue is a fun play on the noir private eye character rooted in Raymond Chandler’s hard boiled detective novels, and the iconic character of Philip Marlowe, her potential is wasted. If anything, Coen and Cooke give a nod in Chandler’s direction, showing how he can easily be imitated, rarely equalled or bettered.
The kill shot that puts Honey Don’t! down, however, is police officer MG Falcone (Aubrey Plaza) who is Honey’s love interest. Inexplicably, Coen and Cooke struggle to understand that she’s the glue that holds the story together, and with her abrupt disappearance part-way through the film, disappears any chance they have of satisfactorily threading their film together.
Honey Don’t! played in the Best of Festivals at the 29th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. On various platforms on Monday, December 8th.
