A SIMPLE FAVOR:
SEXY ANNA KENDRICK AND BLAKE LIVELY MYSTERY IS A POWERHOUSE!
By Nico Beland
Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4
LIONSGATE
Director, Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, The Heat, Spy) shows his darker side with the new mystery thriller film, A Simple Favor, based on the novel of the same name by Darcey Bell. This is quite an unexpected film for Feig to work on, seeing how he’s usually known for comedies and more infamously the supposed “Death of the Ghostbusters franchise” but if want to hear my thoughts on that then go back to my review of the 2016 Ghostbusters movie.
Nevertheless, I was interested by the film’s marketing which made it perfectly clear it was “From the Darker Side of Paul Feig” and looked very reminiscent of the 2014 David Fincher film, Gone Girl and 2016’s The Girl on the Train. I guess women disappearing for unknown reasons make for some great literature and films.
So, how does A Simple Favor hold up? Honestly, I think it’s better than most of Feig’s other work. Granted I’ve never read the book, but this movie had me hooked from start to finish, the movie perfectly balances a mystery-thriller, a story about parenthood, and a black comedy together, and the on-screen chemistry of Anna Kendrick (Scott Pilgrim VS the World, 50/50, Pitch Perfect trilogy) and Blake Lively (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Gossip Girl, The Shallows) is unlike anything I’ve seen from them before.
The film follows Stephanie Smothers (Kendrick), a single mother and vlogger who becomes acquainted with a mysterious woman named Emily Nelson (Lively), one day after picking her son up from school. The two of them become best friends as well as their sons and everything seems perfect.
That is until Emily suddenly disappears without a trace and nobody seems to know what happened to her. Stephanie and Emily’s husband, Sean (Henry Golding-The 8TV Quickie, The Travel Show, Crazy Rich Asians) try to solve the mystery behind her disappearance but only dig deeper into trouble as they discover the truth behind Emily.
The film also stars Andrew Rannells (Yu-Gi-Oh, Sonic X, The Intern) as Darren, Linda Cardellini (Scooby-Doo, Freaks and Geeks, Gravity Falls) as Diana Hyland, Rupert Friend (Pride and Prejudice, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, The Young Victoria) as Dennis Nylon, Jean Smart (Frasier, Kim Possible, Legion) as Margaret McLanden, Eric Johnson (Flash Gordon, Smallville, Fifty Shades trilogy) as Davis, Glenda Braganza (10.5: Apocalypse, Men with Brooms, Saving Hope) as Kerry Glenda, Kelly McCormick (11.22.63, Damien, The Expanse) as Stacy, Aparna Nancherla (Inside Amy Schumer, BoJack Horseman, Steven Universe) as Sona, Dustin Milligan (90210, Schitt’s Creek, Extract) as Chris, Sarah Baker (Louie, The Campaign, Mascots) as Maryanne Chelkowsky, and Bashir Salahuddin (Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Gringo, Top Gun: Maverick) as Detective Summerville.
Overall, A Simple Favor is as stylish as it is deep and interesting with powerhouse performances by Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively to boot. The concept is fascinating and actually quite frightening, your best friend goes missing and you end up knowing everything and nothing about the person at the same time, if you ask me that premise alone is scarier than ANYTHING in The Nun.
But knowing Paul Feig he does squeeze some comedy in there as well through witty dialogue and at times comedic editing. There’s even a recurring joke involving a saying similar to motherf*cker that I would pay $4 million just to hear Samuel L. Jackson say it, those of you who have read the book or seen the movie understood both references made there.
As mentioned before, the performances by Kendrick and Lively are incredible, and some of the best acting I’ve seen from either of them. They give it their all and I believe every moment when they’re on-screen, Blake in particular nails the woman hiding a secret character perfectly and you’re never sure what to make of her.
I had a great time watching this film and was invested in the story all the way through, but I won’t lie it was a little predictable at times. It doesn’t ruin the movie in any way, but I was able to catch on to what was going to happen by the end probably because Rosamund Pike did something very similar in Gone Girl, however that’s a really minor nitpick.
If you’re a fan of Paul Feig, Anna Kendrick, and/or Blake Lively or want to see something a little different from the director, then A Simple Favor is definitely up your alley. It’s certainly better than watching a biology teacher training a Predator dog and making a franchise jump the shark, still haven’t gotten over that one.
From the blog www.moviewatchinpsychopath.blogspot.com
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