I live for a 90-minute or less runtime film. It calls to me—it says, I am a quick paced, compact story that hits all the points and check marks but usually still leaves you feeling you had a full experience without wasting your entire day. However, sometimes a 90 minute film can drag, or leave out details you wish could have been included if it were longer. Honey Don't! did not drag, but it did leave me feeling like many elements arrived out of nowhere, and then were never fully developed or tied up completely. Honey Don't! has a few genuinely funny moments  but overall feels forced and incomplete. 

 

Honey O’Donahue, played by the gorgeous Margaret Qualley, who seems to be everywhere these days, is a small town private detective. A confident lesbian woman who looks like she’s been plucked from the real world and put directly into 70s clothes and settings, although the dialogue (specifically about covid) and modern cellphones clue the audience in that this is in fact a modern day setting. Is this a commentary on how “vintage” is back? Who knows? This is basically how I feel overall about this entire film—it is on the brink of saying something worthy or important but it never fully approaches or successfully delivers a real message on anything. There are compelling storylines about religion, cults, murder, domestic violence, estranged family members, gangs, corruption, and so much more—yet I cannot think of a single profound or memorable “aha” moment to tell you about or to argue that you should give the film a chance even though it’s missing so many elements. All potential with no execution, unfortunately. 

 

The “twist” of the story is so out of nowhere that it isn’t even shocking because it’s barely believable. It left me questioning, “did I miss something there? Because… why…?” as I walked out of the theater. Although I did find this overall more likable than Drive Away Dolls (2024) because there was a lot of potential and I enjoyed the Honey character played by Qualley and found it to be the only redeeming part of the film. Of course, other than shirtless and sex obsessed Chris Evans, who plays the corrupt Reverend Drew that runs the church connected to the mysterious deaths in this small town that Honey is investigating as the other entertaining part of the story. If Honey Don't! could have focused solely on this storyline for 90 minutes, we would have a more satisfying and complete film instead of just sex scenes and underdeveloped themes.