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Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Honey Don't!' Review: Margaret Qualley Stars As A Gutsy Private Eye In Ethan Coen's Messy Comic Noir
Even after his death in 2004, there's still only one Russ Meyer, and this, the second solo outing from the Coen brothers' Ethan, is a sad reminder of the talent he took with him to the grave. Meyer gave big parts to big women in films that shouted about SEX! in great big capital letters, bringing an artistry to the drive-in but never patronizing the sizable blue-collar audience that dug his bawdy humor. Honey Don't! would benefit from even just a fraction of Meyer's genius; as it is, there's a reason why Coen's film was tucked away in a graveyard slot on the last weekend of the Cannes Film Festival, much like you keep self-raising flour on a shelf that's near impossible to reach because you don't really ever use it. The opening is certainly striking; a car is being chased, and it crashes somewhere in the desert, instantly killing the female driver. Out of nowhere comes a beautiful, bob-haired brunette, a Mia Wallace lookalike (Lera Abova) who wears leopard print on top of leopard print and rides a cute mod scooter. She inspects the body and rips a distinctive ring off its finger: a cross with a red dot. Cue the music (The Animals' 'We Gotta Get Out of This Place') and a hectic Mondo Topless-style montage of the story's setting, a very rundown Bakersfield. (You might be expecting to hear Carl Perkins' song 'Honey Don't', but Coen saves that for the end and uses Wanda Jackson's version instead.) More from Deadline 'Imago' Director Déni Oumar Pitsaev On Winning Two Prizes In Cannes: "I Didn't Expect It At All" Palm Dog: 'The Love That Remains', 'Sirât', 'Pillion' And 'Amores Perros' Honored - Cannes Film Festival Ethan Coen's 'Honey Don't!' Gets 6.5-Minute Ovation In Cannes This dead-end town is where we meet Honey O'Donahue (Margaret Qualley), a hella lesbian and gutsy private eye who likes to drink ('Heavily. It's a point of pride'). Working with the local feds, Honey begins to investigate the crash, even though it has already been written up as an accident. What Honey isn't telling them, though, is the fact the dead woman, a local bartender, had asked for her services in the days before her death. The case takes her to the local church, where pastor Drew Devlin (Chris Evans, in the kind of role Charles Napier would usually play) has a very hands-on way of communing with his congregation, and also the local police station, where she hooks up with cop M.G. Falcone (Aubrey Plaza), and the two embark on a passionate affair. It promises to be a kitsch laugh-riot, but, like the last film, Drive-Away Dolls (2024), Honey Don't! doesn't tick any of the necessary boxes to become the cult film it obviously would like to be. The idea of a lesbian private eye isn't even that new either, since Jess Franco had two in a pair of his most enjoyable exploitation movies (Sadisterotika and Kiss Me, Monster, both 1969). Qualley, who handles the role with a sass it doesn't really deserve, carries the film to the finish line, which is no easy task given the proliferation of messy subplots, from the reappearance of Honey's abusive father to the provenance of the mysterious brunette, who turns out to be French and in the pay of the pastor, whom she warns that 'ze purple' — whoever they are — are nut vary 'appy wiz 'im. Mercifully, it's all over in under 90 minutes, but the ending — as well as being, well, just silly — raises more questions than it satisfactorily answers. Does this mean there's going to be a third movie, effectively making this the second part of a loosely linked trilogy? Honey, don't even think about it. Title: Honey Don't!Festival: Cannes (Competition)Director: Ethan CoenScreenwriter: Ethan Coen, Tricia CookeCast: Margaret Qualley, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Evans, Lera AbovaDistributor: Focus FeaturesRunning time: 1 hr 30 mins Best of Deadline Broadway's 2024-2025 Season: All Of Deadline's Reviews Sundance Film Festival U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize Winners Through The Years Deadline Studio At Sundance Film Festival Photo Gallery: Dylan O'Brien, Ayo Edebiri, Jennifer Lopez, Lily Gladstone, Benedict Cumberbatch & More
New York Post
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Parents outraged by trans film for kids at NYC's Museum of Natural History
The Museum of Natural History shocked even liberal Upper West Side parents last week by showcasing an animated film featuring a drag-performing fox and a trans kid with an identity crisis – alongside an exhibit 'about sea animals.' The eight-minute stop-motion animation short titled 'Dragfox' – featuring a 'charismatic' fox in drag voiced by Sir Ian McKellen — played last weekend on a loop inside the august Milstein Hall in the shadow of the famed 94-foot long blue whale. In one scene 11-year-old Sam twirls around with his sister's pink dress, eventually wearing it. The flamboyant fox, 'Ginger Snap,' snatches it and breaks into a drag musical number as the duo embark on a 'magical journey' in the attic. Advertisement 3 The film played on a loop in the museum, surprising parents. Dragfox 'What on Earth is this doing playing in the Natural History Museum? No connection whatsoever to space, the ocean, anything,' blasted one stunned museum-member mom in an online parents group. 'There's a time and place for drag queens but the AMNH isn't it,' added the mom about the museum, which received at least $17 million in government funding in 2024, according to its financial disclosures. The mom was galled that the subject matter 'was intentionally placed in front of us, in cartoon format, with no posted forewarning, in an exhibit about sea animals.' Advertisement The 'family friendly' series, part of the annual Margaret Mead Film Festival, was innocuously called 'Our Friends, The Animals' and described a collection of five 'imaginative' shorts that explore 'the deep and often mysterious connections between humans and animals' told through 'myth, magic and quiet moments of discovery.' De-transitioner Oli London rejected the film's sentiment that transitioning magically brings happiness. 'Children should not be exposed to gender ideology in any format,' said London, who's 35 and detransitioned two years after beginning the grueling process. Advertisement 3 Jacqueline Toboroff called the film 'predatory indoctrination.' Obtained by the New York Post He railed against the animated film aimed at 'targeting' youngsters by including a character with a 'cute, friendly-looking fox . . . encouraging them to become confused with their gender identity and become trans. Children should be off-limits from radical gender ideology.' Parents accused the museum of straying from its mission to 'discover, interpret, and disseminate —through scientific research and education — knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe.' Instead of understanding science, they're 'ignoring' it by 'presenting something that's ideological as scientific fact,' said Natalya Murakhaver, an UWS mom-of-two and documentary filmmaker, who blasted the screening as 'predatory behavior for young, impressionable children. Advertisement 'I think we have activists running the museum who are trying to portray their idea of reality as fact, when it's actually ideological,' she added. But 'Dragfox' director, Lisa Ott, exulted during a 2024 BAFTA award acceptance speech that the short 'celebrates drag queens and trans joy.' The singular goal of the film was to 'have one little queer kid or trans child out there feel a little bit less alone.' The festival is a way to 'step beyond your comfort zone to listen, feel, and see yourself reflected in the stories presented on screen,' insisted Jacqueline Handy, the AMNH Director of Public Programs. It's more insidious than that, said downtown mom of two, Jacqueline Toboroff. Showing a loaded film aimed at kids is 'predatory indoctrination' meant to sow chaos, she said. 3 Parents were surprised the show was showing, on a loop, in an exhibit about sea life. Robert Miller 'It's an attempt to dislodge American traditions,' said the author of 'Supermoms Activated,' claiming that the focus on kid-rich environments – 'libraries, schools and museums' – is an 'intentional effort to groom these kids. 'It's meant to sexually exploit impressionable minds and to mainstream sexual deviance.' Advertisement New York is among the states with the most gender-affirming care, with 1,154 minors in the state who were sex change patients between 2019 and 2023. There's social contagion being artificially created and 'harming a new generation of kids that can't escape this ideology,' according to Maud Maron, a parents-rights activist in NYC running on the Rrepublican ticket for Manhattan district attorney against Alvin Bragg. She added, 'You just don't have a right to push it down New Yorkers' throats in taxpayer-funded institutions.' Advertisement The museum said the festival is funded by the New York State Council on the Arts with support of the 'Office of the Governor,' but Gov. Kathy Hochul's spokesperson insisted the state stopped directly funding the film festival in 2021. 'The state did not allocate funding for this film festival and was not involved in the curation or selection process,' the spokesperson insisted. The arts council budgeted $25,000 in capital grants for the museum this year and that money may have been funneled towards this year's festival, said the rep. AMNH did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
American Idol's Top 10 Revealed Live! Did Your Favorites Survive the Cut?
Just one day after American Idol viewers made the worst decision of the season by eliminating Amanda Barise (bitter, party of one!), the show's remaining singers returned on Monday for a live Top 10 reveal. With Season 3 winner (and major scarf enthusiast) Fantasia serving as their guest mentor, the contestants — Filo, Mattie Pruitt, Josh Foster, Jamal Roberts, Canaan James Hill, Josh King, Thunderstorm Artis, Gabby Samone, Breanna Nix, Kolbi Jordan, Ché and Slater Nalley — took us on a journey back in time, paying tribute to some of the most iconic names and performances in Idol history. More from TVLine Grey's Anatomy Preview: Monica Is There When Amelia Needs Her Most 9-1-1's Polarizing Death Could Be Part of a Scheme to Save Doctor Odyssey - Hear Me Out 9-1-1 Made a Huge Mistake Killing Off Peter Krause's Bobby Nash - How Can the Show Possibly Recover? And the show wasted no time pumping us full of feels, with the judges entering to Carrie Underwood's winning single 'Inside Your Heaven.' The contestant-turned-judge added an extra dash of nostalgia by wearing the very same dress she rocked when she won… two decades ago. Read on for a breakdown of how the remaining singers fared on Monday, including which 10 will return next week… and which two have reached the end of their Idol journeys. Once you've soaked it all in, vote for your personal Top 8 and drop a comment with your thoughts on the night's results. Were any of your favorites eliminated? Slater was the first to receive words of wisdom from Fantasia, who challenged him to really let loose with John Prine's 'Angel From Montgomery.' Other than Slater rocking his snazziest cowboy getup yet, this didn't physically stand apart from any of his previous performances. Vocally, however, he's never been stronger. Jelly Roll hit the nail on the head when he described Slater as having 'the voice of a running river.' He feels like one of this season's more authentic contestants, just getting up there every week and showing us what he's got without any pretenses. And what he's got is always good. Andy's Grade: 'A' Recognizing that his song choices have been skewing a bit more 'old school' as of late, Ché decided to switch things up with Robyn's 'Dancing On My Own' in an effort to appear more 'current' (a word famously used by Simon Cowell to describe Katharine McPhee after her Season 5 audition… but I digress). It turned out to be a fantastic song choice, one that allowed Ché to show off every last trick in his vocal arsenal — and at this point in the competition, he needs 'em. That said, I have to respectfully disagree with Luke Bryan's claim that Ché has become an exponentially better performer since they chose to save him. This is exactly the Ché we've always seen. Andy's Grade: 'A-' Fantasia was blown away during her time with the multi-talented Thunderstorm, who threw it back to the days of Haley Reinhart with a performance of The Animals' 'House of the Rising Sun.' Did he give us the growl we craved? No, no. He pummeled us with it, and we welcomed every crushing blow. I've always been in awe of Thunderstorm's talent, but I never thought of him as this type of performer. He really woke up tonight — and I didn't even know he'd been asleep! How exciting to discover yet another layer of a contestant I already loved this late in the game. Andy's Grade: 'A+' First of all, Kolbi was absolutely right to call Katharine McPhee's 2006 performance of Judy Garland's 'Over the Rainbow' as a 'ridiculously iconic' Idol moment — because it was. Second, Kolbi was also absolutely right to choose this as her song, which she navigated as beautifully as, say, bluebirds might fly over a rainbow. Just as Kat's performance sealed her victory back in Season 5, we very well may look back at this version as the moment Kolbi became a shoo-in for Season 23. I think Lionel took the words out of most people's mouths: '…What the hell was that?' Andy's Grade: 'A+' Of all the people I'd expect to pay tribute to a classic Jennifer Hudson performance tonight, much less a song like 'And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going' from Dreamgirls, Filo wouldn't have been on the top of my list — but shame on me for doubting him, because he absolutely crushed it. More importantly, he took Fantasia's advice (an answer to her prayer!) and really made it his own. I have to disagree with Carrie that this was a new iconic moment, but it was a very good moment, and definitely Filo's most impressive yet. Andy's Grade: 'A' When it comes to American Idol contestants, it doesn't get more iconic than Kelly Clarkson, so Mattie rightfully opted to perform 'Because of You,' which she dedicated to her own inspiring uncle. It was definitely the Mattie version, with more glorious rasp and delicious angst than the original version of the ballad, both of which I appreciated. And she obviously had a strong connection to the song; you could hear the genuine emotion in every note. (That said, did she need to literally spin around and point when she sang 'everyone around me'? It felt a little theatrical in the wrong way.) Andy's Grade: 'A-' Unsurprisingly, Fantasia and Canaan formed an instant connection during their time together, and that beautiful bond came through in his performance of CeCe Winans' 'Goodness of God.' It was another powerful, polished gospel number, beginning softly from a place of intimacy and growing until the entire auditorium was bathing in his light. Luke really put it best: 'He baptizes me every time he sings.' Andy's Grade: 'A' I didn't think it had been that long since Elliott Yamin blessed us with his famous performance of Donny Hathaway's 'A Song For You.' Then Gabby said she was three years old when Fantasia won… and I suddenly became very aware of the passage of time. Anyway, Gabby's talent was something I've always been extremely aware of, so I wasn't the least bit surprised when she crushed — nay, clobbered — the very same tune. Gorgeous runs and big notes in all the right places, paired with deep emotion and a soulful delivery? To quote Carrie, it was 'absolute perfection.' Andy's Grade: 'A+' I'm not sure what surprised me more: discovering that Josh sang back-up for Fantasia in church, or hearing that Josh had chosen Celine Dion's 'All By Myself,' famously performed by Pia Toscano (one of the most underrated Idol contestant of all time) back in Season 10. I was looking forward to being blown away by a totally unexpected take on a classic, but I have to admit… I was not blown away. The emotions were obviously there, and I respect that, but I also think the performance would have been benefited from a little less emotion. This is one of the most iconic ballads of all time, with endless potential for jaw-dropping vocal moments. If you're not going to give them to us, at least give us something different that we can similarly enjoy. This was all feels, no thrills for me. Andy's Grade: 'B+' After bonding with Fantasia over, as Michelle Williams would say, not compromising her Christianity in the music business, Breanna took the stage with a powerful take on Danny Gokey's 'Tell Your Heart to Beat Again.' All those haters who say that Breanna isn't a Christian anymore can go choke on a Communion wafer, because God was definitely with her on that stage tonight. (He dipped out a little bit during her last note, but he stuck around for most of it.) Andy's Grade: 'A-' As a nod to Carrie, John crooned Randy Travis' 'If I Told You,' which the judge included as a cover on her 2007 album Carnival Ride. John walking towards the judges' panel to serenade Carrie could have taken an extreme left onto Cheese Avenue, but it was actually really endearing. In addition to the guy being incredibly talented, there's a subtle sweetness to John that really shone through this performance. Andy's Grade: 'A' It was fitting that Idol saved Jamal for last, and not just because he's probably the biggest Fantasia fan of the bunch. His performance of Tom Odell's 'Heal' was the perfect way to end the night, even if it was a bit of a stretch to say this was a tribute to Leah Marlene's 'iconic' performance back in *checks notes* 2022. Arguably the truest performance of the night, there was something appropriately healing about the pairing of Jamal's voice with those powerful lyrics. And that moment of silence at the end? If you didn't get chills from that, you're dead, baby. Andy's Grade: 'A+' Fantasia may have returned to Idol as a mentor this week, but after witnessing that absolutely jaw-dropping performance of her new single 'Have Your Way,' I don't think we have any choice but to also declare her the winner of Season 23. Sorry, everybody else, but you can all go home. That had to have been one of the most powerful, emotional and overall transcendent performances I've ever seen on this show — and I've been here since Day 1, folks. 'The world is going through a lot right now, and we need more God, so I allowed him to use me on the biggest stage ever,' she told Ryan Seacrest as even he struggled to process the beauty he'd just witnessed. Fantasia, on behalf of mere mortals everywhere, thank you for that. Andy's Grade: 'A+++' But seriously… Best of TVLine Mrs. Maisel Flash-Forward List: All of Season 5's Futuristic Easter Eggs Yellowjackets Recap: The Morning After Yellowjackets Recap: The First Supper
