Ethan Coen returns to the director’s chair with Honey Don’t!, a new dark comedy set to premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival before arriving in cinemas on August 22. This offbeat caper brings together an enviable ensemble led by Margaret Qualley, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Evans, Charlie Day, and Billy Eichner, promising a summer release that’s as stylishly twisted as it is star-studded.
The story follows Honey O’Donahue (Qualley), a small-town private investigator pulled into a series of suspicious deaths tied to a mysterious church. With a setup that hints at comic noir, the film promises a blend of deadpan humour and small-town unease, all filtered through Coen’s off-kilter sensibility.
Coen co-wrote the screenplay with his wife and longtime collaborator Tricia Cooke, continuing the creative partnership they explored in 2024’s Drive-Away Dolls. That film, too, starred Qualley and showed the duo’s knack for marrying genre tropes with irreverent wit.
If Honey Don’t! follows suit, viewers can expect a playful dismantling of crime storytelling conventions — with just enough deadpan absurdity to keep the story refreshingly unpredictable.
