Honeyjoon (Tribeca 2025) Review & Summary

In Honeyjoon, a mother and daughter try to figure out how and if they can connect without the man who used to bond them.

ByAmari Allah Hours Posted on Hours Updated on

Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.

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“Honeyjoon” Film Details

  • Released On: In Theaters
  • Public Release Date: June 7, 2025 (Get Tickets)
  • Director(s): Lilian T. Mehrel
  • Writer(s): Lilian T. Mehrel
  • Genre(s): Comedy, Drama
  • Rating: Not Rated

Summary

It’s the anniversary of June losing her father, Lela, her husband, and they travel together with seemingly diverging goals. Lela wants to properly mourn, in terms of crying, holding her daughter close, and bonding. June? Yes, she is open to some bonding, but she also wants this to be a vacation, where she can meet a cute guy, hook up, and spend time with her mom.

As Honeyjoon goes on, you see them both struggle with not getting what they want and with Lela not only mourning her husband but the Iran she grew up in, as she watches the news, so it is revealed why there is some level of estrangement and we’re left with the question of, by the time this trip is over, will things remain the same or will this mother/daughter combination be closer than ever?

Cast and Characters

June (Ayden Mayeri) and Lela (Amira Casar) – Honeyjoon (Source: Honeyjoon Trailer)

June (Ayden Mayeri)

  • Character Summary: June, with life not being perfect and signs of aging starting to affect her, wanted to get away from her day-to-day life and have fun. However, with trying to pair a vacation with the anniversary of her father’s death, and have her mother join her, she finds herself struggling to enjoy the trip, despite all the potential it had.

Lela (Amira Casar)

  • Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
  • Character Summary: A therapist by trade, Lela longs for a deeper connection with June, especially since she is now a widow. But with Lela, like many Middle Eastern parents, pressuring June in ways that make her feel uncomfortable, to a point, they are estranged.

Why Is “Honeyjoon” Not Rated?

  • Dialog:
    • Cursing: Mild
    • Innuendo: Mild
  • Sexual Content:
    • Nudity: Mild
    • Sexual Situations: Implied
  • Miscellaneous:
    • Smoking: Yes

Links

Review and Commentary

Highlight(s)

Lela’s Hypocrisy [82/100]

For most of Honeyjoon, if Lela isn’t mourning her husband, she is mourning the Iran she knew before the revolution. This becomes interesting to hear, for as much as Lela seemingly wants the liberation of girls and women, one can see that she often adheres to the new regime regarding modesty. If June’s shoulders are out, she tries to have her cover up, and while she appears to support June wanting to flirt, to a point, she often gets in the way.

What makes this interesting is that you can see June needs and wants a sense of freedom, especially as June, subtly, seems to realize she is aging and slowly transitioning to that unfortunate stage in life where many women feel invisible or, in June’s case, potentially undesirable. So, her mother telling her to cover up creates a sense of shame, and you can see the lack of support, as well as Lela’s sense of admonishment of June trying to be uninhibited and youthful, as Lela further stripping June of her vitality.

And note, June does call this out how her mother mourns for the girls in Iran while putting pressure on her to act and look as conservative as the Ayatollah wants girls to be. Which, in some ways, maybe she breaks through to her mom, but it is hard to say if this is a turning point in the relationship or a reprieve.

June’s Sense Of Longing [83/100]

What drove me to enjoy this movie was June’s sense of longing. It isn’t made clear how old June is, but you do get the sense that she is in a part of her life where she yearns for something. Now, whether or not her father’s death triggered all this? That is hard to say. However, her desire to connect with him, maybe hook up with one of the staff at the hotel, there being multiple scenes of her fantasizing about how they would speak to her, allows you a sense of how she is processing her sadness and how she mourns.

Stick with me here, while Lela’s mourning seems to be about time and dedication to her husband, for June, it seems to be about memories, connection, and without that, it seems she is lost and looking to fill that empty space. I would even submit, with her dropping out of residency, maybe she has lost that push or desire to be a doctor since, between them not saving her dad or maybe her finding herself unable to be on auto-pilot anymore, she now has to reckon with what she wants, who she is, and what the world has to offer for her.

I mean, Lela makes it clear there is much June didn’t know about her dad, like about his mental health, but even with there not being a rundown of conversations or moments she had with her father, you get the sense that her drive for partnership, or even sex, could be her means of either distracting herself or finding someone who didn’t love her like her father did, but could love her in a way that, even if just in that moment, can make his absence hurt less.

June, in trying to navigate her life without the parent she was closest to, allegedly the most like, and trying not to dwell on the loss, but trying to enhance the memories and use the relationship’s precedent as she seeks connection, or maybe fun? That felt honest, not only for the character but also, as a viewer, it felt like it gave permission to operate differently when mourning the loss of someone who had a notable influence on you.

Overall

Our Rating (82/100): Positive (Worth Seeing)

Honeyjoon explores the complexity of mourning and identity through the contrasting experiences of a mother and daughter, each struggling with loss and the roles they’re expected to play. Lela’s mourning is steeped in tradition and silent adherence to conservative values she critiques, while June’s grief feels more raw and searching, expressed through a yearning for connection and freedom.

The film captures the tension between generational expectations and personal liberation, particularly for women navigating aging, desire, and cultural constraint. Though subtle in its storytelling, it resonates emotionally through its honest portrayal of two women trying to reclaim pieces of themselves in the shadow of a shared loss.

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Amari is the founder and head writer of Wherever-I-Look.com and has been writing reviews since 2010, with a focus on dramas and comedies.