Margaret Qualley, Chris Evans and Aubrey Plaza star in the new comedy movie ‘Honey Don’t!’
A new lesbian detective movie, Honey Don’t!, is set to hit cinemas later this year. It stars Margaret Qualley and Aubrey Plaza as leads and Chris Evans as the film’s antagonist. Qualley, whose recent performance in The Substance earned her a Golden Globe nomination for ‘Best Supporting Actress,’ will play the eponymous Honey. She is a smooth and stealthy private investigator who is tasked with uncovering the curious workings of a suspicious church led by a character played by Chris Evans.
The film isn’t the first of its kind. Directed by Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke, it marks the second installment in a trilogy of queer B-movies from the duo. The first, 2024’s Drive-Away Dolls, saw Qualley also play a queer lead. In addition to Qualley, Evans, and Plaza, the upcoming project will star Charlie Day, Billy Eichner, Talia Ryder, Gabby Beans, Lera Abova, Kristen Connolly and Lena Hall.
The film draws inspiration from noir classics like The Long Goodbye and Fat City. It is set in contemporary Bakersfield. Cooke has teased that the film would feature “more sex.” It will take cues from the Wanda Jackson song of the same name. Lyrics from the song include, “I like the way that you wear your clothes. / Everythin’ about you is a doggone sweet” and “You’ve got a way to knock me off of my feet.”
The upcoming detective feature wrapped up filming in May 2024, but details of the plot have been kept tightly under wraps. The movie will reportedly hit cinemas this summer but a specific date has yet to be revealed.
According to Deadline, Honey Don’t! is a neo-noir comedy that will open in theaters this summer. Directed by Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke, the film is the second installment in the duo's offbeat lesbian B-movie series, following 2024's Drive-Away Dolls. It is set in contemporary-day Bakersfield and serves as an homage to classic noir films.
Margaret Qualley stars as Honey, a smooth and sly lesbian private eye retained to investigate the mysterious activities of a peculiar church. Evans stars as the cult-leader figure and antagonist, Priest Dean, who is in charge of the church being investigated. Plaza plays a “mystery woman” with cryptic motives and identity.
Qualley's process with the role was guided by her own intuition and sense of people-reading and situation-readiness—a skill set at the heart of what makes a great detective. Speaking about the role of Honey to i-D, she said, "I tend to want to diffuse things before they even happen. Honey, she’s like honey—she’s skillful, she’s smooth, she is slipping in and out undetected." She also gushed about the directors Coen and Cooke, adding, "They respect and love each other so much. I love the world that they’re living in."
Production was reportedly wrapped in May 2024, although few specifics about the plot are known. Even so, the film is already creating a buzz for its genre-bending style and unapologetically queer perspective. This will mark Plaza's first movie since the death of her former partner, Jeff Baena.
Plaza, 40, and Baena, 47, reportedly separated in September 2024, months before the tragic demise of Baena, who died on January 3, 2025. The White Lotus actress has appeared on Saturday Night Live's 50th Anniversary Special as a guest.
An official release date has not been announced, but Honey Don’t! will be out in theaters sometime this summer. This film promises to be a fresh addition to the landscape of queer cinema, blending humor, mystery, and a distinctive narrative style that challenges the norms of traditional detective stories.
