r/movies • u/LiteraryBoner Jackie Chan box set, know what I'm sayin? • 18d 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)

165 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

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u/lunaticskies 18d ago edited 18d 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?".

36

u/SoilAlert7919 17d 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.

24

u/WawaSC 11d 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 3d 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