Nate At The Movies

I think I’ve recorded myself as being one of the biggest fans of the meteoric rise of Margaret Qualley over the last few years, and it confuses and pains me to say this, but I don’t think the collaboration with Ethan Coen is working out. Drive-Away Dolls was un-memorably solid, and I was expecting Honey Don’t! to be the same, but it forgot to be solid on its way to being unmemorable.

Predictably, still, Margaret Qualley was great with the subpar material she was given, as was pretty much each member of the cast. I thought Chris Evans especially bought in and delivered, but he totally should’ve been in the movie more. Aubrey Plaza and Charlie Day were both decent as well, but they each suffered greatly having to hold up this flimsy story.

The Coen Brothers (emphasis on “brothers”) historically crush mysteries, so it was disappointing that this mystery was so transparent. The twists and turns didn’t surprise me and the crimes didn’t pull me in, despite how fun the fights were to watch. Knowing that films like Fargo and No Country for Old Men are in their catalog, it was weird to see a Coen Brother mystery that lacked a good mystery.

Honey Don’t! ended up being a film that I saw purely for the cast, and they unfortunately weren’t enough to bring this movie out of the ashes. These actors and characters could have totally succeeded in a different story, and I’d love to see Qualley, Plaza, and Evans work together again. A Wes Anderson film, maybe? That could be fun!