By Keith Walther | Rose Law Group Reporter
It has become crystal clear that Ethan Coen is completely incapable of making a quality film without his brother, Joel. “Honey Don’t!” is his latest solo effort following last year’s debacle “Drive-Away Dolls,” which he once again co-writes with his wife Tricia Cooke. Unfortunately, he somehow regresses to create a film with an incoherent story that is more inclined to push political propaganda instead of entertainment.
When untimely deaths begin occurring in a small California town, private investigator Honey O’Donahue (Margaret Qualley) delves into the mystery. Without any hint of motive, she inexplicably links the crimes with a strange church led by a sexual predator, Reverend Drew Devlin (Chris Evans). As a murder spree breaks out, local police detective Marty Metakawitch (Charlie Day) seems more concerned with hitting on Honey than conducting a serious investigation. Unfortunately for him, Honey prefers the company of women as she hooks up with Officer MG Falcone (Aubrey Plaza), vividly exploring their sexual gratification in between scenes of random plot points. Throw in a mysterious French woman named Cher (Lera Abova), who seemingly has ties to a French crime syndicate of some sort, because why not?
While writer/director Ethan Coen may have won four Oscars in his career for incredible films like “Fargo” and “No Country for Old Men,” he shares those wins with his brother Joel. He stopped working with his older brother because it had become more of a grind. That “grind” may have been what Ethan needs to harness his ideas into cohesive and quality driven stories, rather than the scattershot mess this film displays. He devotes many of the scenes to sexual acts that have no point in furthering the story. Coen uses this for the sole purpose of shock value, but without any kind of coherence in the plot, it plays out like a pornographic film.
Coen introduces various subplots and characters, implying importance, only to forget them completely, leaving unresolved plot points and gaping plot holes big enough for a semi-truck. The one-liners and attempts at dark humor feel overly forced and contrived. He commits the ultimate sin as a filmmaker, using this movie as a political platform rather than artistic entertainment. Similar to Francis Ford Coppola with last year’s “Megalopolis,” Coen spews his hatred for the right side of the aisle, purposefully depicting men as violent, gun-toting abusers or manipulative, sexual deviants. People go to the movies to be entertained, inspired, or to escape the headaches of real life, not to be preached to about how their political beliefs may be right or wrong.
Lead actress Margaret Qualley does her best Philip Marlowe impression with this performance. The only things she’s missing are a trench coat and fedora. While her line delivery is deadpan and almost tired, her sexual proclivity certainly is not. Her character is as horny as a teenage boy, more interested in satiating her sexual appetite than solving any crime. Having starred in both of Ethan Coen’s solo projects have become jarring speedbumps in an otherwise rising career.
The rest of this cast is only able to perform as well as the script, failing to convey any kind of connection with their superfluous characters. Chris Evans is over-the-top as the manipulative religious leader, preying on the simple-minded townsfolk to do his bidding and perform sex acts on him. Aubrey Plaza is forgettable as the evidence room officer attracted to Qualley’s character. Only Russian born actress Lera Abova provides an intriguing performance as the mysterious French femme fatale, despite there being no context for her character’s involvement in the story.
The title of this film serves as a warning to be heeded, and Ethan Coen should be ashamed of this product. “Honey Don’t!” is the worst film of the year with a nonsensical story that will insult your intelligence and self-indulging motives to explain its existence. At least we now know who the better Coen brother is when it comes to filmmaking.
This movie earns:
