Honey Don’t! opens in theaters August 22. This review is based on a screening at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.Ethan Coen’s desert detective comedy Honey Don’t! is a step down from what was already a disappointing departure. When older Coen brother Joel branched out from the duo’s acclaimed collaborations, it led to Shakespearean grandeur. There’s no shame in going a more playful route, as the younger Coen and co-writer Tricia Cooke did with Honey Don’t! and its predecessor, Drive-Away Dolls. But their second film in their planned “lesbian B-movie trilogy” is flimsy and insubstantial. It reads like a brisk, star-studded romp on paper: The plot concerns small-town California private eye Honey O'Donahue (Margaret Qualley), a consummate professional summoned to investigate the suspicious roadside death of a woman who had called her not 24 hours prior. Coen and Cooke zoom out to give us the lay of the land before agonizingly connecting each dot, between the deceased’s sexually exploitative church leader, Reverend Drew Devlin (Chris Evans), Honey’s fractured family life, and her advances towards alluring policewoman MG Falcone (Aubrey Plaza).Each of these subplots has its own subplots that drag Honey Don’t! further away from its mystery, including Reverend Drew’s involvement in international drug trade and Honey’s teenage niece Corrine (Talia Ryder) confiding in her about an abusive relationship. Honey occasionally follows up on leads, moving languidly between several matter-of-fact exchanges with no real emotional trajectory. The dialogue is delivered so flatly that you might struggle to differentiate the dramatic and comedic material in any given scene. Take, for instance, Honey’s many conversations with her doting, capable assistant Spider (Gabby Beans), which feel like they’re supposed to be banter between two quick-witted women, but result in awkward dead air for extended periods. The movie’s parched, dusty setting extends infinitely in establishing shots, but the characters’ interactions feel like that, too.What’s more, none of Honey’s sleuthing ever turns up useful answers. Notable discoveries and plot turns usually fall in her lap, and the story’s disparate threads end up being tied together through sheer coincidence. This might be intentional: Coen and Cooke are more concerned with the theme of feminine trauma and anger binding their storylines. However, it results in a plot-heavy film that continuously meanders on its way toward building on (or satisfying) its intrigue. There’s no single noir tradition that dictates exactly how a modern successor should operate; some of these stories focus on the mystery, while others use their underworld escapades as vehicles for charismatic characters – but that’s the main ingredient Honey Don’t! lacks. Qualley, through no fault of her own, is stuck pounding the pavement with little more than a mild scowl on her face, while Evans strains to embody a foul-mouthed douchebag with no further dimensions, much as he did in The Gray Man. The Biggest Movies Coming in 2025If Honey Don’t! has one redeeming performance, it’s that of Charlie Day as local detective Marty Metakawich. It’s a minor role made hilarious in a retrograde, tongue-in-cheek manner, since Marty keeps desperately asking Honey out on dates, no matter how many times she clarifies her sexual orientation. Unfortunately, like much of the supporting cast, Day’s role is truncated, and written first and foremost with its function in mind. His handful of scenes are all about nudging Honey’s investigation in a different direction, even though this seldom leads to interesting developments.Honey Don’t! lacks both visual pizzazz and the kind Coen-esque edge that made the brothers’ previous capers shine. Their zaniest works, like The Big Lebowski and Raising Arizona, let their sprawling ensembles loose in a fun-house-mirror reflection of reality. But this one feels far too plodding to draw your attention. It also reads too overtly like the product of a hasty first draft influenced by the window dressing of other, better noirs – the PIs, the lurid crimes, the femmes fatale – without the time or effort to examine what drew audiences to those movies in the first place.Honey Don’t! is a step down from what was already a disappointing departure.“There’s no better summary of the difference between what Honey Don’t! promises and what it delivers than the mood of the crowd at its Cannes premiere. As the logos for the festival and studio came up on screen, they were met with the kind of deafening roars typically reserved for midnight cult movies. But once Honey Don’t! was underway, the excitement slowly dissipated. Punchlines were met with scattered chuckles, and the movie’s violent bloodshed – part-cartoonish, part-viscerally upsetting – yielded befuddlement. You can’t judge a movie by an audience’s reaction, but in this case, it’s at least instructive.

Want something sexy, silly, and scandalous? Then you'll treasure Honey Don't!, the latest collaboration between married filmmakers Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke. The pair, who've been collaborating since the 1990 Coen Bros movie Miller's Crossing, brought audiences the madcap mayhem of Drive-Away DollsDrive-Away Dolls star Margaret Qualley reunites with Coen and Cooke, playing a title character once more. Honey O'Donahue is a small-town private eye who keeps her cards close to her chest. When a new client turns up dead in a suspicious car crash, she quips to the crumpled police detective on the scene (Charlie Day, perfectly cast as an affable dope), but won't give up a single observation. Unspoken, this is her mystery to solve. Over the course of this murder investigation, she'll cross paths with a moped-riding femme fatale (Lera Abova), a surly sapphic cop (Aubrey Plaza), and an ultra-vain cult leader (Chris Evans). It's a wild ride with twists, sex, and murder!  You May Also Like Margaret Qualley is dynamite in Honey Don't!While this is the second offering in Coen and Cooke's proposed lesbian trilogy, Honey Don't! doesn'tDrive-Away Dolls. The key to both films is Qualley, who sets the tone. In the first film, she was a chaotically comical masc with a Southern accent as thick as molasses and a libido as powerful as the sun. The movie followed her frenzied energy through pacing and plotting, taking wild turns with madcap energy. In Honey Don't!, click-clacking heels, pencil skirts or tailored flowing slacks with tidy but never bland dress shirts — reflects these old-school inspirations. So does her frankness; she carries a Katharine Hepburn attitude without the Mid-Atlantic accent. So when the aforementioned police detective flirts with her, she says, smooth as butter, "I like girls." (To which Day replies with a cheery bemusement, "You always say that!") Whether playing the cool gay aunt to a small army of nieces and nephews, uncovering a kinky clue, or hooking up with a one-night stand, Honey is suave and sharp, but also warm. This temperament sets her apart from the fleets of male detectives who've come before her, all swagger and steely glares. Plus, her attitude reflects the atmosphere of Honey Don't!'s setting: Bakersfield, California, a sunny place with a dark appetite.   Mashable Top Stories Stay connected with the hottest stories of the day and the latest entertainment news. Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up! Honey Don't! is a raw and refreshing caper.  Writer Tricia Cooke, actor Margaret Qualley and writer/director Ethan Coen on the set of their film "Honey Don't!" Credit: Karen Kuehn / © 2025 FOCUS FEATURES LLC The screenplay by Coen and Cooke is committed to dark humor, offering gleeful jokes about kinky sex, gruesome death, and the general idiocy of crooks and con men. As Coen directs Honey Don't!, it's tempting to look for comparisons in his shared filmography with his brother, Joel. Is Honey Don't! more Raising Arizona or The Big Lebowski? Burn After Reading or No Country for Old Men? But engaging in this debate risks overlooking the exciting exploration of crime stories that Coen and Cooke are building with their trilogy. Her stamp is clear and important here as the film's co-writer, producer, and editor. Yes, Honey Don't! pulls from film noir inspirations, as do several previous Coen Bros movies… and hundreds of other movies before that. But this crusty California setting gives fresh air to tropes like the femme fatale or the double cross. Where Drive-Away Dolls dug into the rich Americana and queer culture to be found in road trip attractions and lesbian bars, Honey Don't! embraces a less-familiar clutch of gnarly characters, sunbaked and deranged. Chris Evans is hilarious, freed from Disney constraints. Thank goodness that Chris Evans' MCU era has ended. Now the actor who has proven to be a sensational bastard in Knives Out can cut loose with characters who aren't remotely role models.  Related Stories In Honey Don't!, he plays Reverend Drew, a preacher who leads a congregation of dedicated minions who will grant any wish of sex or violence his twisted heart desires. Honey Don't! offers an array of beloved character actors, like Plaza, Day, Billy Eichner, and acclaimed theater performer Gabby Beans. And they are all game for whatever damned thing Cooke and Coen throw their way. Where Qualley plays the straight man to this cluster of kooky clowns, Evans is a ringmaster of his own circus. From the moment he flashes a comically insincere smile, there's a thrill of excitement. Playing punchlines with a gleeful obliviousness, Evans creates a sharp satire of a certain brand of religious leader who believes too much in his own bullshit. His physicality is suitably absurd. Whether he's barking orders in the nude or giving the most hysterical delivery of the word "oui" ever committed to screen, he moves like a cartoon caricature of an arrogant buffoon. Props to Evans for finding a new and fantastic way to continue being America's ass. What's most thrilling about Honey Don't! is perhaps also what's most frustrating about it. Coen and Cooke set up a mystery with a form that seems vaguely familiar at the start. But as Honey chases down the suspects and confounding clues, this story is anything but what you'd expect. And that comes down to the finale, which is sure to divide critics and audiences. Personally, I relished the final surprise of the film, as it suggests this story is bigger than one movie and maybe even one setting can contain. Instead of closure, Honey Don't! offers a taste of something sweet and wild, with the potential for more. And I'm not mad at that. Honey Don't! was reviewed out of the Cannes Film Festival. It will open in theaters on Aug. 22. Topics Film

What do you do when the sun vanishes behind the rooftops just as you've settled in for an evening beer with friends? The answer is simple: grab your chair, rally your mates, and hike to the nearest hilltop to catch the last golden rays with a cold one in hand. This joyfully absurd premise forms the basis of Chairs, the hero film in Birra Moretti's newly launched global campaign, created by Lucky Generals and directed by Sam Pilling. It's a whimsical, cinematic ode to community, ritual, and the pleasure of doing something simple together. The campaign centres around the line "Enjoy Life's Simple Pleasures", a brand platform that aims to cut through the chaos of modern life with a message rooted in authenticity, warmth, and good humour. At a time when attention spans are short, and everything seems increasingly complex, Birra Moretti offers an alternative: slow down, pull up a chair, and enjoy a beer with the people you love. "In a world that's increasingly busy, noisy and complex, we look to Italy, where life's greatest pleasures are often the simplest," says Sam Fielding, global brand lead at Birra Moretti. "Our new global campaign playfully brings this idea to life, sharing the simple joy of connecting with your favourite people and enjoying a Birra Moretti in a beautiful Tuscan setting." That idea is carried across Chairs, and the companion spot Pull Up A Chair, in which a man carts his living room armchair to a bar when no other seats are available. There's a gentle absurdity to both stories, but the message is that pleasure doesn't have to be complicated and great moments are often found in everyday rituals, especially when beer, food and friends are involved. For Gareth Morgan, creative director at Lucky Generals, the idea was born from a desire to reflect real, relatable joy in a chaotic world. "Birra Moretti is here to remind us all that in an increasingly confusing and complicated world, pleasure is, well, simple. Your best mates, ice-cold beers, some antipasti and a sunset. What else do you need?" The campaign leans heavily on visual storytelling to strike an emotional chord without straying into sentimentality. Shot on film in a nostalgic 4:3 ratio, the scenes unfold with a timeless charm as we see sun-drenched village squares, weathered stone walls, and characters with stories etched into their faces. "There are very few places on Earth that know how to slow down and enjoy the moment better than a tiny village in Tuscany," says Gareth. "We tried to use the visual world, particularly the location and cast, to help with the emotion." That sense of place is no accident. Tuscany's cultural richness, from food and landscape to the rhythm of everyday life, was essential to capturing the campaign's tone. "Birra Moretti is from Tuscany, and the beer is literally called L'Autentica, so we were very keen to try and make everything feel as authentically Italian as possible," Gareth adds. The landscape is incredible, the food is banging, and the people are characterful and interesting." It turns out that the chair is more than a cute visual gag. "Everyone loves a sunset beer," Gareth explains. "And the whole village carrying chairs to the top of the hill to chase that last bit of sun felt like the perfect metaphor for what we were trying to say." Simple pleasures, after all, aren't passive. They're something we chase, share, and sometimes go out of our way to protect. The humble chair becomes a stand-in for that intention and a way to invite others in to make time for what matters. The campaign also marks the unveiling of a refreshed brand world for Birra Moretti, building on existing assets like its iconic Baffo character while giving the identity a contemporary update. With executions rolling out across film, social, digital and seasonal activations (including a focus on Birra Moretti Zero), the brand is establishing a more cohesive and emotionally resonant global presence. "We wanted to show people a window into Italy that didn't feel stereotypical but, instead, felt like somewhere you wanted to be," Gareth says. "Sipping on a Birra Moretti with your pals." The evolved visual language brings together heritage and modernity, keeping one foot firmly in tradition while opening the door to new drinkers in multiple global markets over the next 18 months. The media rollout includes digital activations, stills, and social content pillars tailored to brand, seasonal, and product-specific storytelling. With so many beer brands chasing novelty, disruption, or viral punchlines, Birra Moretti's campaign feels refreshingly low-key and all the more powerful for it. There's no over-engineered plot, no celebrity cameo, no lab-grown slogans—just a beautifully shot reminder that the best things in life tend to be the simplest.

A brief teaser for Fallout Season 2 has hit the internet, showing a new look at New Vegas.The clip, shown during the Amazon Upfront livestream overnight, was captured and uploaded on reddit. It shows Lucy (Ella Purnell) and The Ghoul (Walton Goggins) 50 miles out from what was Las Vegas. We hear the famous Geiger Counter sound, signifying radiation is in the air. The Ghoul and Lucy look at each other before heading towards New Vegas, and we get a good look at the post-apocalyptic city skyline.New Vegas is of course the setting for the Obsidian-developed Fallout: New Vegas, and the setting for Season 2 of the Fallout adaptation.So, what can we learn about the show's take on New Vegas from this teaser? Well, it’s more detailed than the brief look we got at New Vegas at the end of Season 1, which stands to reason. It will look familiar to anyone who's played New Vegas, although it appears more densely packed with buildings (the video game New Vegas was a relatively sparse location).The standout is of course the Lucky 38 Resort and Casino, which is on the New Vegas Strip. In the New Vegas video game, the Lucky 38 is the pre-War casino from which Mr. House runs the city. Fans also believe they can make out the Ultra-Luxe, but in truth it’s hard to discern individual video game locations from the shot here.PlayWarning! Potential spoilers for the Fallout TV show follow.The show is confirmed to be heading to New Vegas for Season 2, and it's not just about the location itself. Mr. House is set to be a part of the new season, though how involved he'll be is unclear. We've already seen the tease of some familiar sights thanks to previous set leaks, including this video that shows part of New Vegas and the iconic Lucky 38 resort and casino, all bright and lit up. It's certainly far from the rusty place you might expect.It’s worth remembering where we are in the Fallout timeline: the TV show is set in the year 2296, after all the Fallout video games. Fallout 4 takes place in the year 2287, while Fallout: New Vegas is set in the year 2281, a full 15 years prior to the events of the show.So, what happened in the 15 years since we last saw New Vegas? Co-showrunners Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet have said the setting has changed, and explained why that is important for fans to note.“All we really want the audience to know is that things have happened, so that there isn't an expectation that we pick the show up in Season 2, following one of the myriad canon endings that depend on your choices when you play [Fallout: New Vegas],” Wagner said last year.“With that post-credits stuff, we really wanted to imply, guys, the world has progressed, and the idea that the wasteland stays as it is decade-to-decade is preposterous to us. It’s just a place [of] constant tragedy, events, horrors — there's a constant churn of trauma. We're definitely implying more has occurred.”But what will happen when the Power Armor-clad Overseer Hank, played by Kyle MacLachlan, turns up (potentially after a dustup with a Deathclaw)? Some speculate Mr. House, the enigmatic ruler of New Vegas in the video game and dastardly boss of RobCo Industries in the TV show’s flashbacks to before the bombs fell, may enlist the help of Hank to restore New Vegas to its former glory. Perhaps, if that’s the way the story goes, the forces of Mr. House and New Vegas will end up taking on the Brotherhood of Steel in yet another Fallout faction battle, with Lucy, Maximus, and The Ghoul caught in the middle.Overnight, Amazon announced a December 2025 release window for Season 2, and confirmed Season 3. Last week, Aaron Moten, who plays Brotherhood of Steel hopeful Maximus, said the “endpoint” of the Fallout TV show has it running until Season 5 or Season 6.We had a great time with Season 1, writing in IGN's Fallout The Series review that the show is "a bright and funny apocalypse filled with dark punchlines and bursts of ultra-violence [and is] among the best video game adaptations ever made," slapping it with a well-earned 9/10.To help tide you over until Season 2, here's our interview with Todd Howard and Jonathan Nolan covering all our burning questions after the end of Season 1.Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.