Blank Check with Griffin & David – "Honey Don't" with Mattie Lubchansky (Dec 7, 2025)

Episode Overview

In this episode, hosts Griffin Newman and David Sims are joined by guest Mattie Lubchansky to discuss Honey Don’t, the latest (and final, for now) entry in the Blank Check miniseries on the works of Joel and Ethan Coen—covering both their collaborative and solo projects. The episode lays bare the hosts' and guest's disappointment and frustration with the film, exploring its shortcomings, thematic intent, and place in the larger Coen filmography canon. This in-depth discussion touches on the movie's tonal problems, character work, and its status as a product of Ethan Coen's split creative path with wife/co-writer Tricia Cooke.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Placing "Honey Don't" in the Coen Brothers Canon

• Solo Projects as Series Epilogue: The film is considered a bonus episode for the Coens’ filmography (03:35), with the hosts noting it’s more obligatory than exciting to cover compared to earlier masterpieces:

  "This is our last episode in the Coens' series. It's sort of like an epilogue." (David, 01:35).

• Creative Split: Reflections on Ethan and Joel’s separate career moves, with some joking/longing for a return to their classic partnership.

2. General Reception and Guest Selection

• Critical & Box Office Shrugs: The film's muted reception is emphasized:

  "The last one did poorly and this one did significantly worse... He thought he was suggesting the most ludicrous comedic premise imaginable—if they made a third one!" (Griffin, 06:00).

• Why Invite Mattie? The guest was chosen not as a defender, but as someone able to thoughtfully articulate and wrestle with the film’s issues, instead of just raining negativity (19:44).

3. Tone, Endings, and "The Coen Brothers Magic"

• Why Does It Fail?
  Honey Don’t emulates many Coen tropes but lacks their signature "tone management" and thematic weight:

  "Joel and Ethan together are the kings of an ending that should be unsatisfying... But with this, it’s just making me mad and I cannot find any rhyme or reason or meaning in what they're subverting." (Griffin, 22:02)

• The Ending Problem: The last 20 minutes "undermine everything" the movie has built, with a twist that seems abrupt, unearned, and tonally off (17:41).
• Ineffective Homages: Over-reliance on references to The Long Goodbye and Big Lebowski without new purpose or substance (21:06, 26:48).

4. Comparisons to "Drive-Away Dolls" and the Coen Oeuvre

• Unfavorable to Drive-Away Dolls: Despite initial disappointment in that film, both hosts and guest pointed out that Honey Don’t made them retroactively more appreciative of Drive-Away Dolls’ coherence and intent (16:44, 17:51, 17:10).
• Failure of “Blank Check” Energy: The hosts theorize that the "ramshackle, just go with it" energy that can be charming in some Coen (and solo) projects here feels listless, try-hard, and sometimes mean-spirited (70:37).

5. Script, Dialogue, and the Absence of Spark

• Lack of Distinctive Dialogue:

  "The other thing they also do... is paying homage to stuff in a way that is not tired. That is interesting. That has something to say. And this one is just doing big time, 'Remember that?'" (Matty, 31:25)

• Weak Joke Writing:

  "My body's a temple. You should see it with a Shake Weight. That’s a joke in a Coen Brothers movie?" (Matty, 30:37)

• Perceived Laziness: In both plot and gags, the trio point out missed opportunities or a sort of going-through-the-motions attitude.

6. Themes: Power, Gender, and Sexuality

• Intended Themes: The hosts voice a charitable read that Honey Don’t wants to explore how men hold power over women (46:38) via the protagonist’s navigation of systems of religion, family, and the law—all filtered through the lens of a queer female PI.
• Poor Execution:
  • The film’s villain twist is muddled and regressive, reducing the cathartic or hopeful potential of its gender/sexuality material to “sex-maniac slasher” cliché (49:19).
  • Uncomfortable tonal juxtapositions (intentionally “fun” scenes next to ghastly violence) lack the usual Coen depth or payoff.

7. Performances & Casting

• Margaret Qualley as Honey:
  Collectively, they find her performance both charismatic and a bit empty; “a charisma void,” remarked Matty (37:25), with Griffin musing that the actress has matured but is given little to play.
• Aubrey Plaza:

  "I make a noise about whether I like this actor. Sometimes it hits, sometimes it doesn't." (David, 50:03)
  Plaza works for most of the movie but struggles with the twist; her climactic villain reveal is “unplayable.”

• Chris Evans:
  His over-groomed televangelist (64:01) felt forced, out-of-date, and "too self-manicured" (68:00).
• Charlie Day: A bright spot, his comic-relief cop is “least annoying version” of his schtick (88:56), with the running theme of men missing the point in women's stories.

8. Meta & Making-of Tales

• Script Feels Dated: The hosts suspect the Honey Don’t script sat on a shelf for decades, with only superficial updates (“Covid reference dropped in…”) (65:07, 67:01).
• Direction & Production: Stories from Q&As highlight differences between the two brothers' solo styles—where once the Coens were known for tight, flawless, zero-waste productions, Ethan’s solo effort is loose, inconsistent, and even had to reshoot its opening credits (103:10).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Ending (20:05):

  "I found this movie so deeply frustrating... 75% of it, I'm watching it and going like... approximation of a Coen Brothers movie. Then the last 20 minutes... feel like a shrug and a panic, and it kind of reveals the movie had no idea what it was actually doing up until that point."
  —Griffin (20:05)

• On Tone Management (32:32):

  "There was this quote Ethan has said, over the years, I finally settled on one, which is tone management. That’s kind of their ultimate magic."
  —Griffin (32:32)

• On Missed Potential (40:42):

  "But how much of that is like you go into it knowing that there’s no there there for the character?"
  —Griffin (44:48)

• On Sex and Representation (97:26):

  "I want to show these things on screen in a way that is not the male gaze and that normalizes it. … But I do think the balance is kind of off here."
  —Griffin

• On The Coens’ Future (112:16):

  "Film culture has been lacking from their collaborations... and in that time he has also produced an evening of theater. … Now that we're on the second lark movie, it's not like you don't want to work."
  —Griffin

Important Segments & Timestamps

00:01–04:40 – Comedic cold open/bizarre riffing on the movie's sexual themes (vaginas vs boobs), miniseries context
16:44–21:06 – Assessing "Drive-Away Dolls" vs "Honey Don’t," initial reactions
20:05–22:50 – Deep frustration with the ending, comparison to Coens’ classic ambiguous conclusions
30:01–32:32 – What’s missing: dialogue, jokes, “attention to detail,” and tonal mastery
46:38–50:03 – Good faith interpretation of movie’s intended themes re: power/gender, why it doesn’t land
64:01–70:46 – Chris Evans character/casting, general discussion of missed jokes and empty satire
88:56–90:17 – Charlie Day’s comic relief cop, function in the movie’s thematic structure
97:26–99:03 – On the film’s sex/romance scenes, attempts at authentic lesbian representation, lack of balance
103:10–104:51 – Opening credits filming debacle, how it contrasts with the Coens’ legendary efficiency
112:16–113:01 – Broader discussion of the Coens’ solo projects and longing for the classic collaboration
121:11–149:13 – Box office game, quick notes on contemporaneous films and moviegoing landscape

Episode Tone and Color

• The episode is sharply funny but often exasperated, reflecting on how Honey Don’t fails to embody the spark that makes even minor Coen films valuable.
• The hosts and guest balance playful sarcasm, genuine affection for the Coens, and candid frustration/disappointment.

Final Rankings & Wrap-up

• All agree Drive-Away Dolls is better than Honey Don’t—both as films and as solo Ethan/Tricia Cook efforts.
• Optimism for future solo (or hopefully joint) Coen films persists, but with some skepticism after two underwhelming efforts.

Links & Guest Plugs

• Simplicity (Mattie Lubchansky’s novel) and her podcasts (“No Gods, No Mayors” and “Temporal Culture War”).
• Ben Hosley (producer) plugs his “Slow Christmas V” album.
• Announcements of next podcast miniseries.

Summary Verdict

Honey Don’t is a rare Coen-adjacent whiff—imitating the shape of their best work while missing the ideas, emotion, and structural finesse that make their films endure. For fans curious about the limits of the “blank check” principle (and what happens when both the check and the spirit bounce), this episode offers a rich, thorough, and lively post-mortem.

For More:

• [00:46:38] – Thematic ambitions & critique
• [01:17:41] – Ending’s structural failure
• [01:03:10] – Production anecdote on credits
• [01:12:16] – Coen brothers’ future

Now you don’t have to see Honey Don’t—but if you do, you’ll have company in your disappointment.