Ethan Coen Movie Gets Barebones Release

Ethan Coen’s second film in his “lesbian B-movie trilogy” with his wife Tricia Cooke was released earlier this year to little fanfare. Despite featuring some fun performances from Margaret Qualley, Aubrey Plaza, and Chris Evans, it divided audiences with the twist-filled conclusion to its mystery. Sadly, the release of the Honey Don’t Blu-ray won’t convert anyone onto its side with its lack of any supplemental material.

“In this action-packed dark comedy, Honey O’Donahue is a small-town private investigator who delves into a series of strange deaths tied to a mysterious church,” says the official synopsis.

I wound up liking Honey Don’t more than most. Chris Evans gives a memorable douchebaggy performance in it as a sex-obsessed cult leader, and Qualley is having a lot of fun as the titular private investigator. While the twist near the end doesn’t feel fully earned and there are quite a few threads left purposefully unpulled, I had a fun time seeing it in theaters and again at home.

As for the Honey Don’t! Blu-ray, the film looks sharp and sounds great. The video quality is high in this wonderful transfer, allowing you to really appreciate Coen’s stylish shots. Likewise, the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio track provides an immersive performance and sounds great. So, there are no complaints from a technical standpoint.

Normally, this is where I’d talk about the bonus features that the Honey Don’t! Blu-ray has, but there aren’t any. This is a significant step down from the Drive-Away Dolls Blu-ray, which at least had three small featurettes about the film. The lack of any extras or a commentary track means there isn’t really any incentive beyond completionist collectors to buy the film. There’s also not even a digital code or DVD like Drive-Away Dolls had, so it is a step down in every way.

Honey Don’t! Blu-ray Review: Final Verdict

The Honey Don’t! Blu-ray is an underwhelming if adequate release due to the lack of any bonus features. Collectors of Coen Brothers movies will want to pick it up to keep their collections up to date, but it isn’t a particularly strong entry in their filmography.