A Simple Favor (2018)
September 21, 2018 10:46 AM - Subscribe

A SIMPLE FAVOR, directed by Paul Feig, centers around Stephanie (Anna Kendrick), a mommy blogger who seeks to uncover the truth behind her best friend Emily's (Blake Lively) sudden disappearance from their small town.
posted by lunasol (12 comments total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
I went into this not really knowing what to expect, but having really enjoyed the trailer. And I was intrigued that it was directed by Paul Feig.

I enjoyed this movie SO MUCH. Someone described it as "Scream" for Lifetime movies, and I think that's a really good way to view it. It also sort of reminded me of "Get Out" in the way that the director really understands the similar ways that suspense and humor work in movies.

Blake Lively was amazing. I had no idea she had that in her. I think she's one of those actresses who is so overwhelmingly beautiful in such a conventional way, that it sort of kept her from getting the kinds of roles where she really gets to act. And she was so weird and magnetic and mysterious in this role.
posted by lunasol at 11:30 AM on September 21, 2018 [11 favorites]


Lunasol, you should check out Blake Lively's work in Savages.

A Simple Favor was so many hybrids rolled into one: comedy-mystery, suburban-noir, buddy-betrayal. I loved it.
posted by carmicha at 8:58 PM on September 21, 2018 [3 favorites]


Also The Shallows.
posted by carmicha at 9:06 PM on September 21, 2018


I was a little underwhelmed with the shift from winking genre satire to full-on goofy comedy in the last ten or twelve minutes. I still liked it a lot on the whole, but it started leaking at that point and was pretty saggy by the end.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:41 AM on September 23, 2018 [5 favorites]


DirtyOldTown, yeah, I've since seen a few people say it fell apart at the end and I can see that. I did enjoy the hell out of it but it may not have stuck the landing. That is a bit of a Paul Feig issue at times (he has that Appatowian thing of letting things get shaggy).
posted by lunasol at 6:45 PM on September 23, 2018


So good, we loved it. We couldn't tell which direction it was going to go for most of the movie with the creepy kids and the ghost wardrobe and all the sociopaths but also the humor. Henry Golding was incredible- I still didn't know who he was after the movie ended.

I've always liked Blake Lively as an actress, she was amazing in The Town, but her physical presence in this was incredible. I'd always thought of her as pretty and vivacious rather than gorgeous- here she seemed taller and bigger and MORE in some way that's hard to put your finger on. I've absolutely known people like that and she nailed it.
posted by fshgrl at 9:55 PM on September 24, 2018 [2 favorites]


This was a really fun movie. Anna and Blake both play off each other really well, and the central mystery is pretty solid. I do agree that it falls apart at the end, though, but it is still a fun trip.
posted by graventy at 7:21 AM on September 26, 2018


Saw this on a Amazon Prime at a coworker’s recommendation and really enjoyed it! I frankly did not recognize Blake Lively—she was great. As was Anna Kendrick! I enjoyed that they cast Henry Golding, an Asian person, not because the character called for him to be Asian, but rather because he’s a good actor who could make us wonder whether he was wholesome or conniving (all right, the fact that he’s good looking didn’t hurt, I’m sure).

When Anna Kendrick started her investigation I literally said, “You go, Nancy Drew” and then shortly after one of the characters calls her Nancy Drew, ha.

I was a little surprised at the inclusion of the brother stuff, though it worked well as a character background point. Seemed over-the-line squicky for a typical movie audience.

Oh, and what a great soundtrack. One thing I like about Prime is being able to click on the screen to find out what particular song is playing at any point.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 11:44 AM on November 3, 2019


Heh yeah, I rewatched this recently and was surprised that it had faded to a "charming little movie" in my mind. For whatever reason, the Quirky Detective Influencer Mom stuff stuck in my brain rather than the incest or the secret twin or fraud or affair or murder stuff??!! But yeah, this movie is actually a RIDE and I love it (even the wacky ending).

Now to remember how much I love it.
posted by grandiloquiet at 12:28 PM on November 3, 2019


I thought this had so many funny moments. It did feel like the premise was just too big to keep control of and there was no way to hold it together. My feeling also was that it fell apart at the very end. I thought the first third of the film was really superb, though, and enjoyed all of it even if it turned into a kind of a mess.
posted by MoonOrb at 10:20 PM on December 14, 2019


Wow that was extra.
posted by Monochrome at 12:38 PM on March 29, 2020 [1 favorite]


Ha! So much fun. I enjoyed the comic-farce ending.
posted by porpoise at 5:59 PM on August 13, 2022


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