A Simple Favor

Starring: Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Henry Golding, Rupert Friend, Linda Cardellini, Jean Smart, Roger Dunn
Directed by: Paul Feig
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama
2018

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) is a super mom and she befriends a rich, self-involved woman (Blake Lively) after their kids become friends. When she goes missing, Stephanie is determined to find out what happened.

Review:

Tim: It's hard to quantify Paul Feig's A Simple Favor. It's schlocky, over-the-top dramedy thriller. It almost feels like a made for television movie, but made with the quality of a feature film. The movie manages to skirt the line between believable and utterly absurd, and only dips into absurd territory for laughs. The movie has its flaws, but overall, it's an entertainingly campy film.

I need to give the script credit. It might never have been brilliant, but it routinely proved itself more intelligent than anyone expected. It threw a series of twists and turns at the audience. Not all of them make complete sense, but they were believable enough that we could go with it with just a hint of suspended disbelief. The story presents some worthwhile mysteries that hold our attention throughout. Feig does a good job of balancing the light and dark sides of this story. There's real questions the film raises, so we're engaged as we go on this journey to discover the answers.

The cast give strong performances. I loved Anna Kendrick in this film. Kendrick really is a talented actress and she was able to showcase that talent here. Her character's arc is an impressive one and the transformation she goes through as a result of the events of the film is memorable. Kendrick is able to sell this character evolution so she's convincing as the do it all "perfect" mom, while also believable as her character at the end of the film. She gives a charismatic, likeable performance while also maintaining just an edge of unpredictability. She's a big reason I enjoyed this movie.

Blakey Lively is pretty good. She definitely has fun taking her character to extreme lengths. She gives an unrestrained, over-the-top performance. It works within the context of the film, but I never fully believed Lively's performance. I'm not sure she is a talented enough actress to really pull this off. I lamented some of the scenes where her performance felt rehearsed and forced. On the other hand, I have to give her credit for embracing the sleazy, melodramatic aspects of her character. Lively might not always be great, but she's fun to watch. Henry Golding did a good job, too. I find him a little too stoic, bordering on boring, but his performance worked. The supporting cast was fine, but the movie is really about these three.

I know movies like this exist, but there's not a ton of them. It kind of reminded me of Wild Things, although that movie was far superior to this one. Still, it's that kind of schlocky fun that you can't take too seriously. The story has so many ridiculous moments, but there's something undeniably fun despite the ludicrousness of the whole thing. Now, while the story was sordid and twisty and fun, I have to admit there were a ton of moments that pushed the boundaries of our credulity. If there's a big issue with the film, it's that. Some of it I could get behind, saying, "Okay, I'll buy that..." but there were too many "Oh come on..." moments. That might not seem like much, but it slowly pulls you out of the reality of the movie. This does hurt the film. There's a bunch of twists, but some of them don't make a ton of sense.

It kind of feels like A Simple Favor set out to make a good "bad" movie. It pretty much does succeed here. This is a good movie. However, the weaker aspects of the film prevent it from being something special. I had a hard time believing many of the actions of the characters. They acted in entertaining ways, but not necessarily logical or believable ones. As a result, this movie certainly has a guilty pleasure vibe to it. While I am highlighting some of the critical aspects of my thoughts, I do want to stress that this was a fun, entertaining movie. It's flawed, but Feig's film is a success nevertheless.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Wild Things, Gone Girl