Margaret Qualley‘s new mystery crime movie receives an underwhelming Rotten Tomatoes score ahead of release. The star made her acting debut in 2013’s Palo Alto and gained traction by starring in HBO’s The Leftovers. In 2019, she appeared in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, alongside Sydney Sweeney, Austin Butler, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Brad Pitt.
After starring alongside Emma Stone in 2023’s Poor Things, Qualley led the 2024 horror movie, The Substance, which received five Oscar nominations. The movie further pushed into global recognition. She can recently be seen in Adam Sandler’s Netflix comedy, Happy Gilmore 2, which broke an opening weekend streaming record.
She’s scheduled to appear in Ridley Scott’s post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie, The Dog Stars, and the big-screen adaptation of Thomasin McKenzie’s novel, Victorian Psycho.
Honey Don’t! Has Critics Divided Ahead Of Release
Scheduled to hit theaters on August 22, the neo-noir comedy mystery stars Qualley, Aubrey Plaza, and Chris Evans in an investigation into a string of murders connected to a mysterious church. With a screenplay co-written by Ethan Coen and his wife Tricia Cooke, Honey Don’t! marks director Coen’s second feature without his brother, Ethan.
In the movie, Qualley plays a freewheeling lesbian and private investigator who finds herself in the middle of a conspiracy. Evans plays a cult leader of a shady organization. Meanwhile, Aubrey’s MG is a cop.
Ahead of release, the movie’s Rotten Tomatoes score has been revealed. At the time of writing, Honey Don’t! has a 46% critical approval rate from 57 reviews. While the score will likely fluctuate, the movie’s reception is already divisive. The director’s approach has received the most criticism, but Qualley and Evans’ performances have received a lot of praise, with many agreeing they are the highlight.
What Honey Don’t!’s 46% Rotten Tomatoes Score Means For The Comedy Mystery
It’s worth noting that even though the lesbian B-movie has received a “rotten” score, Honey Don’t! received positive reviews from some of the biggest publications in entertainment, including The New York Times (review not counted to its RT score yet), Rolling Stone, ᴀssociated Press, Variety, and ScreenRant, making a movie worth checking out this weekend.
ScreenRant‘s review of Honey Don’t highlighted it as “a noble attempt to update” the iconography of the neo-noir genre. The New York Times praised the movie for maintaining a balance between sincere and silly, naming Qualley and Plaza’s scenes among the best moments.
The Hollywood Reporter admitted that even though some aspects are lacking in Honey Don’t!, the performances from its cast members and world-building are clearly working.
