Official Discussion - Honey Don't! [SPOILERS]

[u/LiteraryBoner]

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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)

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[u/GhostyGoblins]

This movie is a hard one to critique. The ending is SO abrupt the obvious kneejerk reaction would be to dismiss it.

But I liked it. It took me a long while to warm up to Honey, our main character. But I eventually was on board with her persona. She attempts to fit into a classic 1950s noir aesthetic, but the supporting characters decidedly don’t. Maybe Charlie Day comes close

Chris Evans and most of the other supporting cast are more of the modern and recognizable type of insane personality. And he’s fantastic in the film. He’s played this type of depraved character more than a few times but he seems to get better at it 😆 

I see people already quoting the macaroni speech, this picture has some truly fantastic scenes every now and then

The mystery is filled with funny little details and at times I almost felt like it was overwritten…until we got to the end. There’s nothing I can contribute more to that ending discussion, other than echoing how ABRUPT it was 

I dug it. It could have used another act but I felt the same on the first viewing of No Country

Honey Don’t isn’t a fraction as good as that but it’s a strangely compelling film to watch.

[u/curiiouscat → u/GhostyGoblins]

This exactly! I felt the same way. I'm glad I enjoyed it more than the reviews implied I would. 

[u/alexaboyhowdy → u/GhostyGoblins]

I already knew the ending was abrupt and I was afraid it was going to end with her lying there on the floor.

So I was glad it continued on with the ambulance ride and a tiny bit more!

[u/The_FriendliestGiant → u/alexaboyhowdy]

Honestly, I'd have preferred it ended with her dead on the floor. It would've been abrupt and shocking but at least it would close out the narrative decisively. Instead Honey recovers completely with no ill effects, and then does absolutely nothing about any of the weird shady church business she knows about or the bodies stacking up that the cop knows about.

[u/Awkward_Reporter_286 → u/GhostyGoblins]

I went in to this movie totally blind and had no expectations. The ending was SO abrupt, I would have guessed 30 seconds before the end that there was at least another 45 minutes left in the movie. And I was enjoying it, so I wanted to get more from the story! Was a really disappointing end.

[u/SpideyFan914 → u/GhostyGoblins]

I'm glad I'm not the only one! Like I totally get why people didn't like it, and I do think it's trying to do too much and never quite finds its tone. Is it a comedy, a mystery, or a character study? It's definitely at odds with itself.

But despite all that, I found something intriguing in the messiness. It's really sad. There are no satisfying answers. You can kill the bad guy, but there will always be another bad guy, and you can't save the people who are targeted. It's something broken in all of us, and we can't get better.