Abhiroop Das
Directed by Ethan Coen, ‘Honey Don’t!’ chronicles a small town murder mystery through the eyes of the town’s favorite private investigator: Honey O’Donahue. When she is not solving cases and saving lives, Honey’s preferred method of relaxation appears to be hitting the bar and making new friends. While investigating the suspicious death of a would-be client, Honey meets MG Falcone, a police officer who seems to be equally interested in her. Their chance meeting soon turns into a passionate relationship, one that explores the contours of the psyche in both its highs and lows. Parallelly, Honey’s investigations ramp up, as all the threads point to a mysterious church by the name of Four-Way Temple and an even more mysterious woman known as Chere. What Honey doesn’t know, however, is that she and MG are mere days away from becoming key players in this larger game of passion. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Honey and MG Are Defiantly Gay in the Face of a Restrictive World
‘Honey Don’t!’ settles the debate about Honey’s sexual orientation, not once, but thrice at numerous points in the movie, confirming that the titular private investigator is a lesbian. Both Marty Metakawich, a local police officer, and Reverend Drew ask Honey out seemingly every chance they get, and while she gives both of them different responses, there is individual nuance to it. On one hand, Marty is seemingly unable to process or genuinely believe the fact that Honey is not straight, which frames him as a prejudiced perspective within the narrative. In Drew’s case, on the other hand, Honey is quick to see through his facade of being a moral pillar and steers clear of his attempts at closing the distance. The real moment Honey’s passion ignites, on the other hand, is when she is with MG Falcone, another police officer, with whom she has a brief but steamy relationship.
While MG’s exact sexual orientation is never explicitly confirmed, the implicit details in her character arc strongly suggest that she is gay and not bisexual, just like Honey. On their second night together, the duo finally opens up about their pasts, particularly about how their parents reacted to them coming out. As it turns out, both MG and Honey had difficult childhoods and managed to break free of the system just in time to find their own path in life. This makes their relationship all the more potent, and while both initially claim to desire nothing more than sex, the emotional chemistry is palpable. Throughout the movie, we never see MG showing sexual or romantic interest in men, and while there is a slim possibility that she is bisexual, it is unlikely to be the case.
Chere is Implied to be a Bisexual Character at the End of Honey Don’t!
Amongst all characters in ‘Honey Don’t!,’ Chere stands out as the most puzzling presence, and while much of her enigma resides in her covert criminal affiliations, this also extends to her sexuality. From the start, she is depicted as one of the boldest characters, but her sexual interests only come into the picture at the tail end of the movie, when she hooks up with Drew, not long before pulling a gun on him. While this estabilishes that she is at the very least straight, the ambiguity surrounding her character props up in the final scene of the movie. Here she meets Honey, who is fresh off an investigative victory and newly single. The sparks fly almost immediately, and Honey is not one to keep things waiting, and makes the first move by teasing Chere to stay back and spend time with her.
Although Chere’s reply is never revealed to the audience, her intrigued and amused expression indicates that the duo almost certainly hook up beyond the scope of the movie. As such, while not confirmed, there is a strong case to be made for Chere being bisexual, contrasting Honey and potentially MG. This distinction is also symbolically important, as in a way, Chere is the most powerful character in the story, and Honey’s last-minute decision to strike a relationship with her can give way to a world of shifting power dynamics and mysteries. To that end, Chere’s sexuality being fluid is also in sync with her larger character arc, which generates ambiguity at seemingly every turn, unlike Honey, who is loud and clear about her sexual preferences.
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