A Simple Favor: Not So Simple
A Simple Favor beings with a rather simple premise: Emily and Stephanie become friends through their young sons. Emily disappears one day and Stephanie tries to figure out what happened to her. Enter a tough yet likable detective, a possibly shady husband and Emily's secret past, and pretty soon you've got yourself a complicated, decidedly not simple, mystery! Pro tip: don't try and figure out what happened to Emily and who did it. This is not Law and Order. It is a campy mystery and should be viewed as such. I tried to out think the film and it left me anxious and unable to enjoy it in the way it was intended.
Anna Kendrick's character Stephanie is a comical take on the "mommy blogger" stereotype. What makes things interesting is how director Paul Feig subtly plants seeds of doubt throughout the film to discredit her seemingly good nature. Is she really the put together mom she projects herself to be or is there something darker lingering beneath her J-Crew sweater set facade? Stephanie does become rather annoying and a bit unlikable as the film progresses but by the time I really grew tired of her it was already the final scene so it was not too bothersome. Blake Lively's character, Emily, is the complete opposite of Stephanie. She is a ball busting career woman who is always impeccably dressed. While it's intriguing at first, as the film went on I did feel like her devil-may-care attitude boarded on being too much. I get it, she is a cool mom who defies the norms, but there were times when her brash lines felt forced and out of place. It was like watching a reincarnation of the manic pixie dream girl except this time it's the "I can do it all, I don't care about anything and I love martinis" girl. Despite this, Kendrick and Lively have great chemistry together and their relationship is the best part of the film.
For the most part, A Simple Favor is entertaining enough and does have some great dark humor laced throughout but the ending feels anticlimactic and rushed. For all of the build up around the missing Emily the way the story ultimately plays out is rather unsatisfying. It is almost like Feig needed a way to get himself and his characters out of the corner he backed them into and so for about ten minutes a lot of things happen that are a bit confusing but get the characters where they need to be to end the film. Aside from the ending, the movie is enjoyable. I wouldn’t rush the theater to see it-it’s best as a Sunday afternoon rental. If anything, it is worth watching for Blake Lively/Emily’s wardrobe alone.