Honey Don’t! initially premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival before it released wide in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. Co-written by Ethan Coen and his wife, Tricia Cooke, and directed by Coen, the film stars Margaret Qualley, Aubrey Plaza, Charlie Day, and Chris Evans. The film follows Honey O’Donahue, a small-town private investigator, who delves into a series of strange deaths tied to a mysterious church.

I can’t truthfully say that I was optimistic about this one, but at the same time, I had low expectations after last year’s Drive-Away Dolls. Honey Don’t! is the second in a “lesbian B-movie trilogy” following Coen & Cooke’s Drive-Away Dolls. While the Coen brothers have been going independent lately, I still want to remain positive that they can deliver, considering the hits we have had between No Country for Old Men & Fargo. I didn’t like Drive-Away Dolls, and I honestly like this one even less. This film is all style over substance. It’s clear Ethan brought the wit, while Joel channeled that in the right way to create something unique & dark. I didn’t think it would be possible, but this is one of the worst movies I have seen so far this year.

One of the film’s biggest selling points is having Margaret Qualley in the lead role. Considering she was also in Drive-Away Dolls, I would like to think she also tried to remain positive in Ethan Coen’s direction. If you question what Qualley is able to do as a lead, I strongly consider you checking out Maid. Qualley is, without a doubt, the strongest aspect of this film. She’s confident, likable, and steals the show. Opposite of her, I would even say Aubrey Plaza is doing something different with her mannerisms unlike anything else I have seen.

The film has moments of creative genius throughout from the way these characters act to the way the camera just stays on certain characters through dialogue. The problem is that the script essentially gives the film a disservice of what it could be. The film is somehow pretentious & incompetent at the same time. It’s admirable to still try to apply film aspects of the 50’s and 60’s to modern day filmmaking, but the way it’s presented here creates a clunky film with so many things going on that serve no purpose.

I got the feeling after Drive-Away Dolls that a male director was the wrong choice to tell these stories that follow a lesbian character. No matter the gender, Coen tries to over-sexualize nearly everyone. It feels like some characters are only shown for their physical attributes rather than what they can bring as an actor. Chris Evans should also be embarrassed for what he does here. It’s baffling to believe that he was cool with what he does here. It seriously makes me question his choices post-MCU.

The film goes in multiple different directions, which might sound promising when speaking for films like Parasite, or even No Country for Old Men. For this film, it’s lazy, confusing, and boring. Just as the film gets going with one direction, the film cuts to something else that ends up hijacking the plot, to only keep doing that until the very end of the film. Why Evans’ character was needed to tell this story is beyond me. Why most of the talent signed up for this film is beyond me. I would like to believe the talent only signed up for the director without reading the script.

Typically, when it comes to any Coen film, there are standout characters that either deliver memorable lines of dialogue or deliver something comedic. There were a few people laughing in my theater in the beginning, but it certainly fizzled out by the end. The characters in the film act so bizarre in a way that really took me out of the immersion, and I think that’s due to how poor the character development is. If the film put in the time to create meaning for why these characters act the way they do, then the film could have something going for it. For a film less than 90 minutes, it has way too much going on and too many characters in it without any of the proper development. I wouldn’t even be surprised if Charlie Day committed to the film on his off days from shooting It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Overall, Honey Don’t! is a film that didn’t work for me at all. It’s clear Ethan needs to reunite with his brother, Joel, more now than ever. The script is a mess and the direction is rushed. The script could have been better serviced had it gone through more revisions and the direction would have been a lot better from a female perspective. I can’t believe I am saying this, but I might genuinely be done with watching another Ethan Coen movie unless he reunites with his brother.

RATING: 1/5