Film Review: ‘Honey Don’t!’ is Further Amusing Evidence that Ethan Coen and Margaret Qualley Should Make a Dozen More Violent Comedies

I wrote about this a bit when Drive-Away Dolls (reviewed here) hit, but it bears repeating. I’m not the world’s biggest Coen Brothers fan. I appreciate their work more than I tend to enjoy it, with some notable exceptions. When they split up, Joel Coen made classy prestige fare with The Tragedy of Macbeth, which I liked just fine (reviewed here). Ethan Coen, on the other hand? He did Drive-Away Dolls, which was a violent road trip comedy. I wound up preferring Ethan’s lark to Joel’s heady adaptation, so now with Honey Don’t, I feel confident in saying that I’m an Ethan Coen fan. The silly little goose that he is, I just vibe with his violent comedies. This is no exception, even if it feels at times like something he and his brother might once have tackled.

Honey Don’t is a Margaret Qualley star vehicle once again, with Coen is rightly infatuated by. I truly hope they make a dozen more of these together. Her lust for the part and joy Coen has for capturing her in it does paper over some narrative thin points, as it’s as much a character study as it is a whodunit. The mystery often takes a back seat to vibes, but when the vibes are this easy to jive with, it’s hard to care too much.

Honey O’Donahue (Qualley) is a small-town private investigator, the type who feels both incredibly modern and also out of a classic hard-boiled detective paperback. When a new client turns up dead, Honey can’t help but look into it, first with the detective assigned to the case, Marty Metakawitch (Charlie Day), who can’t get it through his head that she’s a lesbian, and then on her own. When Marty sends her over to the evidence locker, she doesn’t just get a new perspective on the death from Officer MG Falcone (Aubrey Plaza), she picks up a date as well.

The more Honey pokes around, the more bodies are piling up, with signs pointing to some shady dealings going on at the local church, run by the predatory Reverend Drew Devlin (Chris Evans). He’s clearly using his status in the community to prey upon vulnerable young women, though the extent to what else is going on remains unclear. When Honey’s niece Corinne (Talia Ryder) goes missing, her urgency escalates, leading to a surprising showdown.

Margaret Qualley is once again an absolute riot, doing some of her best work with Coen. She had amazing chemistry with Geraldine Viswanathan in Drive-Away Dolls, which she recaptures here with Aubrey Plaza. Qualley feels equally at home playing detective as she is rattling off her zinger-filled dialogue. Plaza has a quieter role, though their chemistry and ability to play off of each other is a highlight. Chris Evans and Charlie Day are hamming it up, though again, when duking it out with Qualley, everyone raises their game. In addition to a solid Talia Ryder, the supporting cast includes Lera Abova, Gabby Beans, Kristen Connolly, Billy Eichner, and more.

Director/co-writer Ethan Coen, once again co-writing with his wife Tricia Cooke, manages to make his violent comedy also pretty sexy. The mystery may be fairly easy to figure out, with the third act twist pretty ho-hum, but again, the vibes are off the chart. Giving Qualley a platform to be a witty detective, one also capable of some grade A seduction with Plaza, just works. For just under 90 minutes, the flick proves to be a real good time, even if it’s not trying to be high art or even especially memorable. In the moment, it’s just plain fun.

Honey Don’t tickled me pink. I sincerely hope that Ethan Coen and Margaret Qualley make a full on franchise out of Honey O’Donahue mysteries. She’s a terrific character and Coen knows how to have fun with Qualley in a way that’s just straight up enjoyable. The film can be a bit shaggy, to be sure, but I had a great time with it, all the same.

SCORE: ★★★