Honey Don’t! Is Only Worth Watching For the Sexual Swagger

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If the Coen brothers choose to work independently, Ethan might find alternative ways more engaging than creating films labeled “lesbian B-movies” with his wife Tricia Cooke. Yet, their previous collaboration, “Honey Don’t!”, bears a resemblance to a Coen brothers film in its comedic pacing that invites comparisons, despite the fact that it seems to offer only a portion of the unique style they once shared. Joel appears to be the brother in purgatory, while Ethan showcases his dark humor. In this new production, Ethan fully immerses himself in a sunshine noir backdrop located in Bakersfield, California, which is more a collection of diversions than a coherent mystery. While great detective tales can be complex and hard to follow, featuring twists and leaving unresolved narrative threads, many aspects of “Honey Don’t!” are merely there for atmosphere. The film’s disorganized feel seems like a test, urging the audience to determine if it’s just amusing, sexually suggestive, or entertaining enough to compensate for its premature ending before the credits conclude.

Titled after the Carl Perkins song and featuring a lead character named Honey O’Donahue, a private investigator with a penchant for swing dance attire and a knack for probing even when not on duty due to boredom, the film stars Margaret Qualley from Drive-Away Dolls. Qualley dons high-waisted pants and polka-dot dresses exceptionally well. While her portrayal as a tough, no-nonsense detective is questionable, it’s also hard to take Chris Evans seriously as Reverend Drew, a church leader who sleeps with congregation members in fetish gear and operates a drug business on the side. Aubrey Plaza’s deadpan humor is amusing, but her performance as MG, a butch cop who crosses paths with Honey, seems more like play-acting. The film creates an eccentric world that remains somewhat superficial in its exploration.

The focus and significant energy spent by these stories, particularly “Drive-Away Dolls” and “Honey Don’t!”, appears to be on portraying bold lesbian confidence within conventional genres such as road trips and detective movies. Characters like Honey, much like many fictional P.I.’s, are solitary individuals with commitment issues, yet they are uninhibited when it comes to their physical desires. Their initial encounter at a bar, filled with quick-witted banter, is followed by suggestive actions that show more than just an intention to be alluring.

The film cleverly juxtaposes intimate scenes between the women, such as a passionate encounter in bed, with everyday activities like Honey cleaning her sex toys in the sink the next morning, aiming to broaden and normalize on-screen lesbian intimacy. This approach, similar to the same-sex marriage theme in “Drive-Away Dolls” from 1999, seems somewhat detached from current discourse.

An unexpected detail is that despite the film’s contemporary setting, Honey angrily covers a “Make America Great Again” bumper sticker on her niece’s boyfriend’s car with one proclaiming “I have a vagina and I vote”, hinting at the film’s relevance in today’s society.

A significant portion of “Drive-Away Dolls” can be characterized as somewhat amusing or lighthearted. For instance, the discovery that Reverend Drew’s mob boss is French, with their main contact being a Vespa-riding, short-haired woman named Lera Abova, offers a subtle humor. A scene featuring a botched drug deal in a parking lot and an unintentional murder involves moments of mildly amusing choreography. The irony of a scene where Honey’s estranged father attempts to reconcile with his family but instead scares them is also somewhat humorous. The intensity may not reach great heights in “Honey Don’t!”, but the low points are never too intense either, until the climax. The resolution to the town’s mystery, while it can be interpreted, is a genuinely frustrating, unexpected turn of events that lacks the impact of a genuine twist. The film offers witty dialogue and action sequences, but ultimately feels like an exercise in clever banter and violence that echoes better movies without quite reaching their quality.

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2025-05-24 05:54