Title: Honey Don’t!
MPA Rating: R
Director: Ethan Coen
Starring: Margaret Qualley, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Evans
Runtime: 1 hr 29 mins

What It Is: Honey O’Donahue (Qualley) is a private investigator trying to solve a mysterious vehicular death—but not all is as it seems. When all signs point to a local church, Honey must take a closer look at that house of God and its charismatic leader, Reverend Drew Devlin (Evans). What she uncovers suggests that the church may not be what it appears to be—and the facts of the case are far from cut and dry.

What We Think: This film was such a letdown. The paper-thin third act completely falls apart, snapping its ankle trying to stick a landing that makes absolutely no sense. Margaret Qualley is doing her damnedest to make the film interesting, and her performance at the center of it is actually quite good. She’s a nice mix of ’40s gumshoe detective and noir femme fatale in equal measure.

Aubrey Plaza is solid too—even if her character is unforgivably underwritten. Chris Evans is highly unlikable, which is clearly the point, but he’s also super annoying. In pro wrestling, there’s a term called “go-away heat,” and he’s got that in spades. Ethan Coen, frankly, needs his brother. They’re just far better when working together than when Ethan writes with his wife.

Our Grade: C-, There’s really not much here worth the price of admission. I’m confused by how unsatisfying this script is—especially given the talent involved. I went into it open-minded, willing to give it a fair shot despite some of the early criticism. Sadly, those critiques turned out to be pretty valid, and mine ended up similar. I can’t recommend it, even though the lead actress is working her ass off and delivering a genuinely strong performance.