4 hours Ago
There is little not to like or at least appreciate about 2018’s A Simple Favor. Stars Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively have tremendous chemistry that comes through very different energies, and the film wraps them up in a terrific, twisty mystery that successfully manages to be equally thrilling and funny. And given my appreciation for the characters and tone, I was fully onboard when the years-later sequel was finally announced, as I had faith that the returning talent – including not only Kendrick and Lively but also director Paul Feig – could echo what was successful about its predecessor while cooking up something exciting and new.
Another Simple Favor(Image credit: Prime Video)Release Date: May 1, 2025Directed By: Paul FeigWritten By: Jessica Sharzer and Laeta KalogridisStarring: Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Andrew Rannells, Bashir Salahuddin, Elizabeth Perkins, Michele Morrone, Alex Newell, Henry Golding and Allison JanneyRating: R for violence, sexual content, nudity, language throughout, and suicideRuntime: 121 minutesThis excitement lasted until about halfway through my screening of Another Simple Favor. In the follow-ups first act, the principal players are introduced with fun new conflicts and relationships, tension is created as the movie successfully keeps the audience in the dark about what lies ahead, and the action is moved to a new and beautiful setting that accents all of the flashy fashion choices. But then the film finally starts dolling out hints about what it’s up to, and it’s from that point on that the whole thing completely falls apart.
If there is a sequel trap or trope development for Another Simple Favor to fall into or attempt to exploit, it does so, and the film unravels into a messy slog that feels like its 40 minutes longer than its predecessor instead of just four. The sharp dynamics that made the first movie shine are replaced with overly familiar ones that are a comparative snore, and it lacks anything unexpected; despite an attempt at building a new murder mysterious, it becomes far too clear where it’s all going halfway through the runtime, and it just coasts to the end.Reintroduced at the start of the film, Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick) has found both success as an investigator and popularity as a vlogger, but she has also written a book about her wild experience with Emily Nelson (Blake Nelson) and copies aren’t exactly flying off the shelf.
In a turn of events that turns out to be both terrifying and convenient, however, Emily first hires lawyers who successfully get her out of prison on appeal, and then she invites Stephanie to be her maid of honor at her extravagant wedding in Capri, Italy.Stephanie is scared that she is being made the target of a revenge plot, but she needs the publicity for her book and material for a potential sequel, so she agrees to go, bringing her literary agent (Alex Newell) along for the ride as insurance. After arriving in Europe, she is not only surprised to learn that Emily is marrying a man named Dante Versano (Michele Morrone), who is the heir to a powerful crime family, but that Sean Townsend (Henry Golding), her and Emily’s ex, has been invited as well.
Conflicts and emotions flare all over the place, and bodies eventually start to fall – but this time around, the number one suspect in the murders ends up being Stephanie.Another Simple Favor peaks far too early and then becomes far too obvious.When Stephanie gets on a private jet to Italy, surrounded by the ultra-wealthy who think she’s the help, the movie is at its high point.
The martini-sipping Emily is a devilish mystery, her motives entirely hidden behind stinging one-liners and what may very well be honest expressions of affection for her “best friend,” and Stephanie having her guard up effectively puts her on her game both in terms of investigative instincts and retorts. Tension boils between the frenemies, as barbs are traded about incest and fratricide. The sequence is a perfect encapsulation of the unique energy that made the first movie so great, and I felt confident in that moment that the film was about to spin off another wild, beautiful treat.
But then the ball gets dropped – both in the script (penned by Jessica Sharzer and Laeta Kalogridis) and in Paul Feig’s direction. While I won’t go into exact events and risk revealing too much in this spoiler free venue, the wheels really fall off during a pre-wedding banquet with the bride and groom’s families and guests. A combination of a failed subtle reveal and blatant glances that are meant to be furtive make everything that’s going to happen super apparent, and the stakes disappear as everything unfolds in service of a terrible twist that is ridiculously predictable for anyone who has watched the first movie (on that note: it’s probably best that you don’t make the same mistake I did and do a refresher screening of A Simple Favor before checking out the sequel, as its best to have certain details from the original be vague in your memory).
Far too much time is spent by the movie catching up to everything the audience already knows – and in the process, it even manages to torch the best aspect of the movies: the poisonous relationship between Stephanie and Emily.Another Simple Favor biffs it on the story front, but at least the film is strikingly beautiful.The mystery in Another Simple Favor is a big letdown and a big step down, compared to A Simple Favor, but one upgrade it can be said the film makes is trading the suburban Connecticut backdrop for the vistas of Capri, Italy.
The production design and location scouting departments for the movie aced their work, and immense compliments also must be offered to costume designer Renée Ehrlich Kalfus, as even someone as fashion blind as myself can appreciate the bold choices made for the characters – with the greatest achievement being Emily’s white wedding dress that is accented with a bridal train that looks like its edges have been dipped in a pool of blood.I imagine that fans of the first movie won’t be able to resist their curiosity in checking out how things turn out in Another Simple Favor, and for those compelled individuals, I will just say this: lower your expectations. It’s pretty to look at, but it’s also deeply frustrating due to its bad plotting.
One hates to say it, but this is a sequel that was not worth the wait..
