Earlier today the Cannes Film Festival announced a decision to give a midnight slot to Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke‘s Honey Don’t, a lesbian detective comedy and the second in a “lesbian B-movie trilogy.” Which sounds unfortunate.

Even without Joel on board, the Coen brand is a “thing” — a bona fide signifier of edge and substance, going all the way back to the premiere of Blood Simple 41 years ago. But perhaps not so much in this instance.

It seems to me that consigning Honey Don’t to the Midnight Section is the festival’s way of saying that Honey Don’t is, no offense, insubstantial. They’re basically acknowledging that it’s a goof-off movie.

I for one am sorry that Ethan is committed to such tripe. He’s obviously capable of a great deal more.