The original A Simple Favor, from 2018, is what I’ve described on more than one occasion as “a hoot.” Directed by Paul Feig and featuring a delicate dance between rival moms Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively, it was a black comedy mystery that had plenty of satirical points to make about adult female friendship and mommy blogging.
The film, adapted from a novel by Darcey Bell, starred Kendrick as Stephanie, a shy single mom running a low-viewership YouTube channel for other moms, when she meets Emily (Lively), a more worldly mom who works in the fashion world. When Emily goes missing and later re-emerges resembling a classic femme fatale, Stephanie’s channel moves to true crime before the plot explodes in intrigue, twists, and double-crosses in the third act.
Now the sequel, Another Simple Favor, which reunites Kendrick and Lively, along with Feig. Aside from a location shift to Capri and a plot built around a wedding, it’s more of the same: There are multiple levels of betrayals, identical twins and triplets, among the rapid-fire series of plot twists.
It’s enjoyable, although much like the first film, it gets more ridiculous the longer the film goes on. Also, the characters’ kids keep disappearing from the narrative whenever the plot requires it. The first film ended with Emily in jail and Stephanie on the road to fame as a true-crime creator, with a sideline in private detective services.
As the sequel begins, Stephanie’s written a book about the case, even as she struggles to add channel subscribers. Soon, Emily re-emerges, suddenly out of legal jeopardy despite the multiple murders. She’s getting married, on the Italian island of Capri, to an Italian man (Michele Morrone) of independent wealth, and she Stephanie to serve as her maid of honor. There’s an unmistakable White Lotus vibe between the Italian location, frequent murders, and recurring incest subplots.
It appears that many people, including among the film’s likely target audience, have turned sharply against Blake Lively as a result of the It Ends With Us/Justin Baldoni brouhaha. I don’t share that sentiment, but will say it adds a layer to the performance, in which Lively’s playing a character who’s untrustworthy and two-faced. Lively’s turn in the first film was probably the best performance of her career, and she nearly matches it here.
Kendrick’s fine, in more of a straight-woman role, although one thing occurred to me while watching: at some point in the next five years, Kendrick will play Congresswoman Nancy Mace in a movie, and probably win an Oscar. Henry Golding, as Emily’s husband, had something of a nothing part in the first Simple Favor, but he’s much better here, as a man hurled by the events of the first film into depression and alcoholism. Allison Janney plays an evil aunt, while Elizabeth Perkins steps in to play Emily’s mother, replacing Jean Smart.
I saw the film at a theater screening, where they served martinis and the target audience of middle-aged moms had a grand time. Another Simple Favor will go directly to Prime Video. This is a mistake.