A Simple Favor is directed by Paul Feig and it promises to show his darker side as this movie promises a juicy murder mystery, a lot of martinis, fashion and affairs. It’s based of a book with the same name. The story is about a mysterious woman named Emily who goes missing all of a sudden, her husband and her new “best friend” have to uncover clues about her not so pretty past. The movie stars, Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively and Henry Golding.
I remember watching the trailer and immediately became interested and entranced by it. It was so different, it had a unique voice and style which I never really knew I needed. I watched the other trailers and again, I was hooked so I went into this movie with high expectations and those expectations were definitely met. A Simple Favor is one of 2018’s most original movies, it’s one of the best examples of it’s genre, dark humor blended perfectly with drama. The juicy story is elevated by the brilliant performances by Kendrick, Lively and Golding.
Those three were perfectly cast, I can’t see anyone playing those characters except for those three actors. Golding has had quite the year with this and Crazy, Rich Asians which just came out where I live (I know, don’t get me started on that). Lively and Kendrick are perfect together, Lively is perfect as the cool, experienced and mysterious Emily and Kendrick is also perfect as the peppy, over-protective city mom who may not be so innocent. I really do hope we get to see more of this duo (Kendrick/Lively) in more movies.
This is truly one of those movies, which knows what it is and goes all out. The colour palette, the french music, the martinis, murder. To describe it, it is truly one of the best “chick-flicks” ever. Although I don’t want to downgrade the movie by calling it a chick-flick. This movie is for anyone who just wants to stay home with a couple of friends, a couple of martinis who just want a great mystery and also want to have a laugh. It reminded me a lot of the 2000’s, which adds even more to it’s uniqueness. It reminded me of that animated show about teenage girls in the early 2000’s who are also spies: Totally Spies!. Just for adults and without the spy stuff but with a similar style.
I can definitely see this movie gaining a cult following like Mean Girls. I would definitely put A Simple Favor up there with Mean Girls. It has so many iconic lines which I can’t say for spoilery reasons. The style and the martinis are like the mascots for this movie. I’m sorry I keep saying martinis but they are sort of important to the story, they appear in every couple of scenes so that’s why. If this movie made me realize anything, it’s that Paul Feig is seriously one of the most underrated directors working right now. This moan brought us movies like Bridesmaids, Spy, Ghostbusters (2016) *it’s not bad in my opinion and directed multiple episodes of both The Office and Arrested Development. Hopefully this movie can bring him more recognition when it hits streaming.
There are some flaws but by the time the movie ends you will forget about them. The movie is a bit too long meaning the pacing can be a bit slow at times making it a bit boring at times but not too boring that you’ll turn it off or leave the cinema. The ending makes it all worth it, in my opinion. You don’t even want it to end. There are a lot of things happening in the third act and you’ll realize how messed up these characters are and yet you still sort of root for them, that’s even more credit to the likeable actors.
In the end A Simple Favor is one of the year’s underlooked movies which is a real shame because it’s one of the year’s best. With electric performances from Kendrick and Lively and a juicy murder mystery it proves to be a movie for the ages. As I said, I can definitely see it gaining a cult following over the years and stay alive. It’s originality makes this movies stand out apart from all these other dry and lifeless comedy dramas.
owen is a filmaholic 