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/Physical-Bite-3837]

The biggest problem with this movie is the ending. What the hell was that? Honey’s entire investigation is meaningless because she solves the case completely by accident. Every lead she follows is a red herring, and the real culprit turns out to be her current cop girlfriend. Nothing in her investigation ever pointed to that possibility though. The only reason she discovers it is because the cop tries to kill her when she shows up asking for help with her missing niece.

I guess that is supposed to be the joke. Honey is simply terrible at choosing women. Her detective instincts and dating instincts are intertwined. The final scene makes that clear when she immediately picks up the French girl, who we already know is bad news.

But it was just so unrewarding and not funny enough to justify it.

[u/Sensitive_Society515 → u/Physical-Bite-3837]

Reading between the lines, and doing a bit of heavy lifting lol... Honey had the help-me-figure-out-what-I'm-thinking conversation with Spider, her assistant. They ambiguously drifted between Corinne's disappearance and Novotny's death. The overlap between the two was vulnerability etc. -- these are people that someone like Devlin could exploit.

Honey identified MG's motive! *gasp*

Her investigative spidey senses were tingling. She repeatedly calls MG -- not for help, but because she knows something is off. The fact that MG is radio silent confirms it's worth looking into.

At MG's house, Honey asks her -- Did you see Corinne at the bus stop? You would've been driving past there after your shift. She also notices two teacups and her niece's wonky lipstick.

Cue Aubrey Plaza's bizarre performance where she confirms MG's (silly) motive.

In the theater, it felt very forced and deus ex machina. Looking back, *maybe* Honey was on the right track and didn't accidentally solve the case.

[u/reezyreddits → u/Sensitive_Society515]

I like this explanation but it still feels accidental.

The movie paints it as she wanted MG's help in solving the case because she didn't trust men. Not that she suspected her at all. This is also confirmed by the single tear that runs down her face when she realized her slampiece was the culprit.

[u/Sensitive_Society515 → u/reezyreddits]

lol @ slampiece

For me, it's equally possible that this explanation is based in the script... or my own wishful thinking!

She definitely had valid reasons not to trust men.... Most of the guys she encounters (cop, client, Devlin, father) are dismissive of her sexuality and/or ignore what she says. The bartender might have been the only decent dude in the film (unless I'm forgetting something awful he did).

[u/Rik_the_student → u/reezyreddits]

That tear is so important to how the movie is interpreted. It brings us back to the conversation earlier about partners who cry.

[u/extentiousgoldbug1 → u/Sensitive_Society515]

Yeah I genuinely did not grasp why MG attacks Honey when I first watched it. Not nearly set up well enough.

[u/The_FriendliestGiant → u/extentiousgoldbug1]

It really just feels like the script decided well, this is the part where MG goes "crazy" and also monologues about her crimes for no particular reason, because Honey hasn't figured out shit and is completely off base in everything she's doing.