Honey Don't!

Honey Don't!
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ethan Coen
Written by	Ethan Coen Tricia Cooke
Produced by	Robert Graf Ethan Coen Tricia Cooke Tim Bevan Eric Fellner
Starring	Margaret Qualley Aubrey Plaza Chris Evans Charlie Day
Cinematography	Ari Wegner
Edited by	Tricia Cooke Emily Denker
Music by	Carter Burwell
Production companies	Focus Features Working Title Films
Distributed by	Focus Features (United States) Universal Pictures[1] (International)
Release dates	May 24, 2025 (2025-05-24) (Cannes) August 22, 2025 (2025-08-22) (United States)
Running time	89 minutes[2]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$20 million[3]
Box office	$3 million[4]

Honey Don't! is a 2025 American neo-noir^[5][6] dark comedy^[7] detective film directed by Ethan Coen, who co-wrote the screenplay with Tricia Cooke. It is the second in a "lesbian B-movie trilogy" following Coen and Cooke's Drive-Away Dolls (2024). The film stars Margaret Qualley, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Evans, and Charlie Day.

Its world premiere was at the Midnight Screenings section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival on May 24, 2025. It was theatrically released in the United States and Canada by Focus Features on August 22, 2025. It received mixed reviews from critics.

In Bakersfield, California, private investigator Honey O'Donahue is called to the scene of a fatal car accident by homicide detective Marty Metakawich, who refuses to accept Honey is a lesbian. Honey chooses not to reveal that the dead driver is Mia Novotny, a prospective client who had asked to meet with her that day.

After meeting with Mr. Siegfried, who suspects his boyfriend of cheating, Honey visits her sister Heidi and her nieces and nephews, including rebellious teenager Corinne. Her police contact, MG Falcone, provides Mia's address and Honey speaks with Mia's parents, learning that she became a member of the Four-Way Temple led by Reverend Drew Devlin.

Unbeknownst to his congregation, Drew is using his church to sell drugs for mysterious traffickers. He is interrupted during sex with a congregant by his henchman, Shuggie, after one of their drivers overdoses on stolen product. The traffickers' French liaison Chère — who removed a Temple ring from Mia's body before police arrived on the scene — warns Drew that Mia's death will bring unwanted attention to their operation, but he claims not to have been involved.

Hector, one of Drew's dealers, panics when a customer propositions him after refusing to pay and fatally runs the man over while escaping. Sent by Drew to tie up loose ends, Shuggie accidentally kills Hector's grandmother before Hector disarms and kills him. A vengeful Hector ambushes Drew while in bed with more congregants, but Drew shoots him dead after pulling a concealed gun.

Honey learns that Mr. Siegfried's boyfriend was the man run over by Hector, and she and MG have sex after a charged encounter in a bar. Corinne seeks Honey's help after being beaten by her boyfriend and is later stalked by an old man who tells her he loves her. Honey questions Drew, who defends using his position to prey on vulnerable young women. MG and Honey sleep together again, bonding over their childhood abuse as MG shares that her violent father was killed in combat overseas.

Corinne is missing, and Honey brutally questions her boyfriend before she is approached by the old man — her and Heidi's estranged father — who attempts to reconnect. Honey fears that her niece is in danger of following Mia's path and learns from Marty that Mia was stabbed to death before being placed in her car, and that the bodies of Shuggie and Hector's grandmother have been linked to the Temple.

Chère has sex with Drew before terminating their partnership and murdering him in his bed. Honey sees her leaving, but Marty is unconvinced there is reason to search the Temple. Surprising MG at her family home, Honey realizes she kidnapped Corinne just as an increasingly unstable MG reveals she murdered her father. MG stabs Honey, who is forced to kill her with her own service weapon before collapsing.

Honey awakens in an ambulance, having been rescued alongside Corinne, who would have been MG's next victim; MG is discovered to have been responsible for the unsolved murders of two sex workers and Mia, whose death she staged as a traffic fatality. Later, noticing each other at a stoplight, Honey flirts with Chère.

• Margaret Qualley as Honey O'Donahue, private investigator
• Aubrey Plaza as MG Falcone, police officer
• Chris Evans as Reverend Drew Devlin, a cult leader
• Charlie Day as Marty Metakawich, police detective
• Kristen Connolly as Heidi O’Donahue, Honey's older sister
• Billy Eichner as Mr. Siegfried
• Gabby Beans as Spider, Honey's assistant
• Talia Ryder as Corinne, Honey's niece
• Jacnier as Hector Bonner, assistant to Reverend Drew
• Don Swayze as Gary
• Josh Pafchek as Shuggie, Rev. Drew's assistant
• Lena Hall as Elle, a woman who plays piano at a bar
• Lera Abova as Chère
• Kale Browne as Honey and Heidi’s estranged father
• Alexander Carstoiu as Mickie, Corinne’s deadbeat boyfriend
• Christian Antidormi as Colligan, Mr. Siegfried’s boyfriend
• Kinna McInroe as Mrs. Novotny
• Kara Petersen as Mia Novotny

In January 2024, it was announced that Margaret Qualley, Aubrey Plaza, and Chris Evans were set to star in the film.^[8] The screenplay was written by married couple Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke, as the second in a "lesbian B-movie trilogy", following 2024's Drive-Away Dolls, which also starred Qualley and was also a lesbian-themed caper film,^[9][10] and coming before a planned third film Go Beavers.^[11] The duo characterized the film as a dark comedy similar in tone to earlier Coen brothers works, such as Raising Arizona, but with sexual content the brothers did not typically include in their collaborations.^[9][12] The release of this trilogy is the outcome of 20 years of writing by Coen and Cooke.^[13] It was produced by Focus Features and Working Title Films.^[12]

In April 2024, Charlie Day, Billy Eichner, Gabby Beans, Talia Ryder, Lera Abova, Jacnier, Kristen Connolly, Lena Hall, Don Swayze, Josh Pafchek, Kale Browne, Alexander Carstoiu, and Christian Antidormi joined the cast.^[14]

Principal photography began in Albuquerque, New Mexico on March 25, 2024^[15][16] and wrapped on May 23.^[17]

Honey Don't! was selected to be screened out of competition in the Midnight Screenings section at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on May 24, 2025,^[18] receiving a standing ovation.^[1]

The film was released in the United States by Focus Features on August 22, 2025, and internationally by Universal Pictures.^[19]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 45% of 107 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Disparate parts and desperate measures spell defeat for Ethan Coen this time around in a romp that tries to cast a wide net but will ultimately leave audiences saying, Honey Don't."^[20] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 48 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.^[21]

The Hollywood Reporter lauded the performances and some elements of the film's "world-building" as well as the "gallery of strong supporting characters," but concluded it all felt like a "series of gags with nowhere to go."^[22] IndieWire, on the other hand, assessed the film as "a mishmash of disparate parts," resulting in disappointment and a waste of the assembled talent. If Drive-Away Dolls was psychedelically silly, Honey seems less interested in actually developing a compelling mystery and more interested to reboot the aesthetics of film noir.^[23] The Wrap expressed the view that Coen's previous movie was more engaging, while Honey is essentially "empty at its core."^[24] Valnet's Collider review found Margaret Qualley's performance to be "a gem" and the film embracing a certain modern "Wild, Wild West vibe" with moments of laugh-out-loud, slapstick humor. It concludes that plot holes might make Honey hardly a perfect film, but for people who like film noir this might be another "slam dunk."^[25]

Variety opined that it's a deliberate throwaway, a mock escapist thriller, one meant to show audience a "flaky good time,"^[5] while Vulture appreciated the sexual swagger of the plot and the women's performances, in a film that could have been better.^[26]

• Official website
• Honey Don't! at IMDb