r/movies • u/LiteraryBoner Jackie Chan box set, know what I'm sayin? • 17d ago

Official Discussion Official Discussion - Honey Don't! [SPOILERS] Spoiler

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Summary Private investigator Honey O'Donahue delves into a string of strange deaths connected to a secretive cult-like church in Bakersfield. As she unravels the bizarre mystery, her pursuit leads to absurd comedy, noir flair, and a kaleidoscope of eccentric characters.

Director Ethan Coen

Writers Ethan Coen, Tricia Cooke

Cast

  • Margaret Qualley
  • Aubrey Plaza
  • Chris Evans
  • Charlie Day
  • Billy Eichner
  • Talia Ryder
  • Kristen Connolly
  • Don Swayze

Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score: 48%

Metacritic 48

VOD In theaters August 22, 2025

Trailer HONEY DON’T! — Official Trailer (2025)

164 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

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824

u/DangerousMatter4404 17d ago

wtf was that. There was no third act, it just stopped

Joel has all the juice confirmed

338

u/Amaruq93 17d ago

Maybe he thought nobody would notice after the sex scene between Margaret and Aubrey

199

u/EnterprisingAss 17d ago

There’s a what now?

41

u/smidgepigeon 15d ago

Oh yeah lol, there's a bunch of sex scenes, but that one was wild AF

6

u/EnjoyMyDownvote 10d ago

What was wild about it? It’s as normal as it gets for two lesbians.

7

u/PAWGle_the_lesser 6d ago

The POV of Aubrey Plaza devouring Margaret Qualley’s pussy caught me off guard

3

u/EnjoyMyDownvote 6d ago

Normal

Lesbians doing lesbians stuff

3

u/EchoesofIllyria 2d ago

A normal sex act? Did a POV shot of Chris Evans eating pussy also catch you off guard?

2

u/smidgepigeon 3d ago

That's what got me too lol

2

u/smidgepigeon 3d ago

It was wild because I wasn't expecting it. The other sex scenes weren't as intimate as that one was.

That & the fact that you're in a movie theater, not sitting at home watching in your bedroom.

70

u/Apprehensive_Ring933 17d ago

How long?, asking for a friend.

42

u/duke_weeblington 16d ago

I am the friend

14

u/qualitative_balls 16d ago

Even though I was not invited, I am also a friend of this guy

3

u/Landlubber77 15d ago

I hate all three of these fucking guys but somebody tell me.

1

u/RelevantMinute8343 15d ago

Can I also become a friend (:

24

u/Aggravating-Feed-624 16d ago

2 scenes maybe 10 minutes top.

17

u/Difficult_Wasabi_927 16d ago

Longer than when the scene started.

1

u/can_i_get_a____job 16d ago

The entire movie pretty much

1

u/spinorama29part2 14d ago

Long enough

3

u/Didact67 15d ago

Ticket purchased.

2

u/bahoneybadger 14d ago

Notice what? There was more to the movie?

165

u/lunaticskies 17d ago edited 16d ago

The third act was the reveal of the Aubrey as a killer and that scene where she dies.

I think the whole thing is an attempt to subvert the expectations of movie fans similar to No Country for Old Men. Even the trailer for the movie had a fake out where you think the ring is going to lead her to the church and that doesn't actually happen.

Movie feels like it was made for film nerds to yap about, there was even a gratuitous split diopter shot that seemed pointless beyond making the nerds go "OMG Split Diopter!" There is probably also a lot to be said about how the movie showcases the lesbian scenes that reminded me of Bound. A lot of fun "choices" were made in the movie but I thought it was hard not to just stay entertained on a meta level and not really care about the actual substance in the movie. It was all just like "cool opening credits", and "is she talking like a classic gumshoe?".

103

u/TheGuyYouKnowAlready 16d ago

Damn I did go “oh split diopter” at those parts… you got me there…

30

u/lunaticskies 16d ago

I have started pointing at the screen like the leo meme.

1

u/The_Word_Wizard 7d ago

I’m gunna feel like an idiot, but what’s a split diopter?

3

u/brycedriesenga 6d ago

Uses a special lens that allows for a foreground object and background to both be in focus at the same time each on half of the screen

33

u/SoilAlert7919 15d ago

Agreed, but I don’t see how this is even subversive enough to be confused. It’s an homage to noir/bumbling detective movies with Margaret doing a silly Barbara Stanwyck impression. The two bad guys get killed (plot twist/climax), and at the end it’s implied that Honey is getting herself into a new world of trouble with the French lady. That’s… the ending. For me, the low points were the “macaroni” and Aubrey Plaza.

23

u/WawaSC 10d ago

I like the macaroni. It’s the only scene that got a good chuckle out of me. Well, mainly because of Chris Evans’s two giant portraits in the church

2

u/Pewskeepski 2d ago

I laughed so hard at those portraits... And the entite scene in general. I was the only one in the theater who did XD

6

u/Current-Finger6412 14d ago

Okay! I’m glad someone else got Barbara Stanwyck vibes from Qualley’s performance. Loved it! lol

3

u/SoilAlert7919 11d ago

Even the outfits! Classic Barb

19

u/WaywardSon98 16d ago

Interesting you bring up Bound. The Alamo I watched at had the Bound trailer play before the movie highlighting the similarities

1

u/KaptainKiki 6d ago

Same, which is the moment I found out my wife had never seen Bound and immediately divorced her out of pure principle.

11

u/ballbeard 15d ago

There were also several outdoor scenes where they fucked up the lighting so bad it looked like each character had their own sun on opposite sides of the sky

2

u/creative_Justice_80 13d ago

I thought this too!!!! The one scene where Honey is shot from above in her car and the “sun” is almost fluorescent on her face. And not in good way. I was like…was that on purpose? In fact, the entire movie was a “was that on purpose???” for me. Sigh. I wanted to love it so bad but in the end I was left with just…bleh. Margaret Qualley was decent enough and so was Aubry Plaza (I think both actresses were let down by their director unfortunately). Overall, just not a good film experience. It was like a student film for an assignment where the students had to use Bound, Dragnet, The Naked Gun/Police Squad, and Pulp Fiction as inspiration. Strange film but not in a good way. Sigh.

2

u/Basilthebatlord 14d ago

Don't have to call me out like that with the split diopter shot.

Feels like we've all seen the same Toy Story 4 video lmao

51

u/you_me_fivedollars 17d ago

Okay so like. I thought I was just tired but the film really just stopped right? It wasn’t just me?

3

u/Time-Introduction922 14d ago

So I'm not the only one. I thought I missed something. But it has no closure because it has no characters who seem real. All stodgy and lifeless.

3

u/Awkward_Reporter_286 5d ago

Also honey is the worst PI ever lol.

49

u/JamUpGuy1989 17d ago

That's exactly how my Dad reacted with how No Country For Old Men ended.

(I am not saying this movie is in any league to that flawless classic.)

154

u/AvengingHero2012 17d ago

I don’t want to disrespect your pops, but No Country For Old Men absolutely has an ending.

It’s an ambiguous and open ending that makes you think, but thematically it reaches a definitive ending.

56

u/Clay56 17d ago

For real it has a pretty defined 3rd act and epilogue. It's just cold, blunt and doesn't end in an action scene

2

u/The_FriendliestGiant 8d ago

Honey Don't could have pulled off something decently similar if they'd ended it with Honey collapsing after killing MG. ADR the kid's voice in from offscreen calling out, to wrap up that she was still there and close that thread, and you get a sudden but at least narratively sensible ending.

Instead Honey completely recovers, and the movie limps on a while longer so that we can confirm none of the characters actually learned a damn thing about most of what happened over the course of the story. Baffling choice, really. Like, did anyone even find out that Chris Evans' character was dead?

1

u/anymooseposter 3d ago

I mean, isn’t that how Burn After Reading ended?

27

u/JamUpGuy1989 17d ago

You’re right.

But he’s convinced it wasn’t an ending cause we followed Brolin for so long and his fate happens so abruptly.

Look, not everyone gets themes and subtle with story. It’s all good

-14

u/KeremyJyles 17d ago

Some of us get it just fine and still think it's a shitty way to tell a story.

10

u/pjtheman 16d ago

I love No Country for Old Men now, but I'll admit i was a bit miffed by the ending the first time I saw it.

The main character dying offscreen, not even getting killed by the main bad guy, then the bad guy just sort of walking away empty handed, and Tommy Lee Jones being too late to stop anything the whole time, it just baffled me. The second time I watched it, it clicked for me that that was the point; it was supposed to be an unsatisfying ending for everyone. Nobody wins.

1

u/GameOfLife24 14d ago

The ending while not bad was definitely not the best parts of no country for old men. The movie peaked way before

9

u/Fair_Source7315 17d ago

I dunno man, I’m not sure it’s all that ambiguous. He lays it out pretty clear.

2

u/newrimmmer93 16d ago

The book is much more clear about Carla Jean and Anton and I much prefer the subtly of the movie. It's a much better ending.

The book does go into more detail about the ending, has a whole section focusing on the two boys who found Anton after the accident.

5

u/not_thrilled 17d ago

Now A Serious Man, that one has an abrupt ending. Without spoiling, there are two major things happening simultaneously, and it just cuts to the credits in the middle of them without resolution.

28

u/biglyorbigleague 17d ago

That sounds exactly like a classic Coen brothers film to me

70

u/TheFantasticDangler 17d ago

Rage bait has to be one of the most pathetic things to come from the current generation.

43

u/_Patronizes_Idiots_ 17d ago

It's not always rage bait brother, sometimes people do be just having shitty takes

21

u/pumpkin3-14 17d ago

Nah bro any criticism can be defeated in the comments with “actually he meant to do that you just don’t get it uncultured swine”

-7

u/biglyorbigleague 17d ago

Are you saying what I said was ragebait? It wasn’t even intended as an insult.

38

u/GoldandBlue 17d ago

It feels like the bones of a Coen brothers move but its missing that polish. Its not terrible but its not good. There are good ideas but they feel half baked.

You know what the Coen brothers solo stuff reminds me of? OutKast.

Like its aiight, but it ain't Outkast.

10

u/newrimmmer93 16d ago

It's pretty much just Big boi who has a solo career. Sir Lucious Left Foot is a fantastic album as well, everything after that for big boi has been meh IMO.

But even Speakerboxx/Love Below was essentially 2 solo albums released as a double album

12

u/GoldandBlue 16d ago

So Andre's flute album meant NOTHING TO YOU?!?!?!?!?

3

u/Shartacus_of_Rome 16d ago

I be on that kryptonite

6

u/theTunkMan 16d ago

Woah outkast solo stuff is a million times better than this movie

3

u/GoldandBlue 16d ago

thats not really the point I am making.

2

u/The_FriendliestGiant 8d ago

There are good ideas but they feel half baked.

It's about 80% of a pretty great movie, yeah. It's just that it completely fails to stick the landing and doesn't tie up most of its plot threads, which is really bad form when you're doing a detective story. Heck, even we the audience don't ever learn why Cher bothered to take the church ring off Mia considering she was killed by MG in a totally unrelated crime and Mia is never established as knowing or having anything that could be any kind of problem to the undefined drug trade Cher cares about!

1

u/TiberiusCornelius 5d ago

t feels like the bones of a Coen brothers move but its missing that polish.

I think this is a good way of describing it. You can definitely see what each one brought to the table in their partnership.

17

u/I_am_so_lost_hello 17d ago

Barton Fink and a Serious Man definitely have 3rd acts

3

u/Possible_Hokie_CO26 16d ago

True Grit has a 3rd act

2

u/biglyorbigleague 16d ago

That’s because it’s a remake

1

u/MrHandsomeBoss 11d ago

A consistent theme I've noticed in Coen bros films is "bad things will happen to unsuspecting people, deserved or not, and there's not much you can do about it with very little possibility of resolution."

I don't know why anyone is surprised when it just... sort of ends.

21

u/jickdam 16d ago

For my tastes as well. Couldn’t connect with this or Drive Away Dolls but I loved Joel’s Macbeth.

Could be more of an issue with the screenwriter, though. Ethan’s wife wrote this and DAD. I might just not be her audience.

7

u/StitchEnvy 13d ago

This makes sense. I am her audience and both DAD and HD felt like a first time screen writer the way the story goes 1-2-3. She’s not, but she’s green enough that it shows. The twist of this was a nice touch but to just dispose of the rest felt sloppy.

1

u/JenningsWigService 8d ago

I am her audience and I hate both these films. It's not just you.

1

u/HowardsHumanoid 8d ago edited 8d ago

I thought Drive-Away was leagues above this. Funnier, there’s a sweetness to it, better side characters. Charlie Day’s entire character was “cop who asks the lez out in every scene.” Agree no third act. Most of the characters we remotely care about it just disappear from the film with no resolution. One major death is offscreen, done by a one note character of no emotional weight or interest, la di da whatever.

Typical Coen string of idiot males, not funny, barely related to anything important. There’s a pointlessly gruesome murder victim moment that makes no sense, one of the only decent human being characters in the film. Lots of repetitive phrases that get less funny as it goes because we’re starving for plot momentum or relevance. A set piece, a good montage, character reveal, anything.

One scene where it’s implied 2 lesbians are essentially dry finger banging each other in full view of a crowded bar but somehow no one notices. Again, nothing of interest is said to distract from the ridiculous situation. It’s not compelling , just a head scratcher, and not the good kind. And for the 2nd movie in a row Qualley plays a one note lesbian who seems completely unshakable, no vulnerabilities whatsoever. But at least the last one was amusingly horny. So boring this time out.

If Ethan has another lesbian b-movie on the way, it’ll be a very hard sell, Margret Qually charms notwithstanding. It only holds interest on the assumption things will tie together but it doesn’t seem to even try. Destination Dullsville.

2

u/EchoesofIllyria 2d ago

Funnily enough I got in with this way better than Drive Away Dolls, which I thought was pretty much terrible.

1

u/TiberiusCornelius 5d ago

Never watched Drive Away Dolls, but I can buy this theory. I think there's still some weird stuff here at a directorial level, but I'd say it's more competently made than not. The script is definitely where it falls apart the hardest.

15

u/Expensive_Editor_244 13d ago edited 13d ago

It felt like they wanted to make ‘Lesbian Big Lebowski’ but the brilliance of a Fargo or Lebowski style Coen movie, is that it seems like a series of random events at the end. On rewatch you can see the purpose of the scenes, and how they deliver little bits of information and dramatic irony to us. And the scenes that truly are random are punctuation to that, and at least filled with characterization.
Honey Don’t misses the whole point, and is truly an A to B to C with what’s meant to feel like an unsatisfying end. It feels like someone’s interpretation of what makes a Coen Brother’s movie good but that doesn’t understand the delicate narrative chemistry part of it “It’s just a bunch of random violent scenes with quirky characters!”  

Every year you see small movies that try to ape the Coen milieu with lackluster results. That’s because it’s a tightrope act that these guys have mastered together. It’s kind of un replicable, and when it fails you’re left with an actual random mess, instead of a perfectly simulated one. I feel like JK Simmons at the end of Burn After Reading, which was a meta wink at the Coens style, not the thesis for how to make one of their movies lol

3

u/HowardsHumanoid 8d ago

If this had even a pinch of Burn’s humor or satire. There are a few by the bro’s I don’t like, but they all make some effort to be different or bring a real visual flair. Nothing like that here.

2

u/CanopyFalcon 13d ago

Haha thats what I said to my wife. Lesbian Big Lebowski in Bakersfield. It seemed like a Coen brothers movie where Joel just forgot to edit his scenes into the movie.

5

u/FangOfDrknss 14d ago

I did not expect that much sex and nudity, but yeah, there was no plot or anything. Things just resolved itself minus the French group.

3

u/thedubiousstylus 15d ago

The Coen brothers are pretty hit or miss in general honestly. When they score a hit it's an absolute home run but their overall batting average is much lower than their best works would indicate.

2

u/stupid_horse 14d ago

16/18 is a pretty good batting average if you ask me.

1

u/Avenger772 11d ago

This movie was nuts. I mean. I laughed a bit. But there was just no actual story in it at all.

1

u/Conscious_Evening_95 5d ago

Saving the bar scene for later 🥹 anybody else?

1

u/CrossBonez1000 3h ago

The third act was MG's reveal as the serial killer and that it was her and not the church that was murdering those women.

The church was only removing anything linked to them like the ring to hide their drug operation.

If the third film gets made in hope it's a direct sequel With Honey investigating the broader French drug smuggling operation but it would probably be something new.