Honey, Don't!

I saw Honey, Don't! yesterday. Written by Tricia Cooke and Ethan Coen. Directed by Ethan Coen. The film stars Margaret Qualley along with Aubrey Plaza and Chris Evans.

I was so excited to see the film for multiple reasons. One, I'm blown away I still get to see films in theaters made by a Coen brother. Two, I'm more than happy to always support an original film when Hollywood gives the opportunity. And three, I saw Drive-Away Dolls and fell in love with what Cooke and Coen were trying to do.

They're working to bring B-movie crime films back, and you can tell. The films are created with deep love, but Honey, Don't! seemed to lack in a lot of respects to me. It's set up like any classic Coen brothers film with a unique main character tossed into a swirl of shit, but the film seemed less interested in making a real movie and instead just followed these shady characters around. It would've been more suited for a nice crime paperback instead.

I could still see the craft in every aspect of the film but the script. The script felt like it was tired and almost ready to break under the pressure of having to hold together for at least 80 minutes to qualify as a feature. I was less invested in Honey, Don't! than I was in Drive-Away Dolls. It's a shame, but it missed the mark for me. Drive-Away Dolls had great pace, characters, and a story that at least felt like it wasn't built on fumes and gum. Sadly, Honey, Don't! felt the exact opposite. For an 80-minute film, the pace felt like it took an eternity to get anything rolling and interesting.

I do hope people enjoyed this film because I understand what Cooke and Coen are doing, and I'm more than happy for them. I can't wait to see the third film in the lesbian trilogy, but I do hope Coen gets back to his groove.