A Simple Favor

2018 • 116 minutes
4.0
373 reviews
84%
Tomatometer
R
Rating
Eligible
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About this movie

A SIMPLE FAVOR, directed by Paul Feig, centers around Stephanie (Anna Kendrick), a mommy vlogger who seeks to uncover the truth behind her best friend Emily's (Blake Lively) sudden disappearance from their small town. Stephanie is joined by Emily's husband Sean (Henry Golding) in this stylish thriller filled with twists and betrayals, secrets and revelations, love and loyalty, murder and revenge.
Rating
R

Ratings and reviews

4.0
373 reviews
Michael Gutmann
December 27, 2018
It's well-acted but the push and pull of a suspense thriller and cheeky comedy didn't work for me. If I'm going to get drawn into a mystery, it needs to be just at the edge of believability; otherwise I'm left with too many feelings of far-fetched. And to make the suspense plus comedic twists work, the plot was too convoluted. It felt like it was trying to be a "Body Heat" kind of film, but didn''t have the continuous, realistic, edge. It's not awful and parts of it are entertaining, but it just didn''t hold together as a whole, something that's important, as far as I'm concerned.
19 people found this review helpful
Anna Brenner
January 12, 2019
This movie couldn't keep it up. It began as a stylish thriller paying homage to classics of the genre. I appreciated the female focus: two opposites-attract women who aren't merely fighting over a man (at least at first). One detail symbolizes the problem with this film: that sexy dress Anna Kendrick wears on the movie poster? It is Not in the film. She is Not a sexy character; it's the whole point. There's a humorous scene when she's stuck in a sexy LBD, but it is not the same dress as on the poster. The suit on Blake Lively, however, Is in the film. So, I guess the directive for the poster was, "No women allowed... unless they're hot." And then the end. I don't have room to explain here how poorly the last 15 minutes are handled. Suffice to say: the clever ladies suddenly slid into "I know you are but what am I"-style of performance. They became sexist caricatures of women fighting over a man and money: snippy instead of witty, passive-aggressive bitchy instead of brilliantly conniving. In summary, director Paul Feig should stick to the fun absurd female-led comedies. He knows broad comedy, but he knows nothing about actual broads. Okay movie, not recommended.
29 people found this review helpful
Natasha Widner
February 21, 2019
The first hour is great. Then right in the middle you're met with so many (dumb/seen it before) twists that it becomes stupid. The akward comedy thrown in does not help. Save your money!