Trailer- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muMlClBKmXc
Rating- R
Genre- drama/mystery
Warnings- sexual situations/nudity/swearing/child abuse
I didn't see much hype for this movie. What with 'The Predator' and 'The Nun' being released around the same time, I could see how 'A Simple Favor' lost its spotlight against the two heavy hitting features. Yet, my mind couldn't get off of it; I had no other interest in watching anything else but this and I think it has to do with its ambiguous trailer.
'A Simple Favor' came off to me as a comedic take on a mystery on what happened to a woman's best friend which I figured would lead to some dark secrets being unveiled and a tragic ending to the characters. I was expecting to laugh, but eventually become tense over the series of events that would occur and ultimately end in me shedding a couple tears- scratch that- a sympathetic frown.
Did this movie do me a favor and became a thrilling ride to sit through, or should I have just simply stayed home and ignored this altogether?
This drama mystery is about a happy-go-lucky but insecure housewife named Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) who befriends a confident but crass woman known as Emily (Blake Lively) and after sharing a fair amount of time getting to know each other, Emily suddenly disappears and Stephanie sets to find out what happened to her- slowly but surely discovering that Emily is not what she seemed to be. This story was based off Darcey Bell's novel of the same name that was published in 2017.
I wonder if the events in the book are the same as the events in the film, because if they are then I want to read it. It might help me understand what the heck was going on the whole time. I feel foolish for being confused, but as the movie went on I became more and more unsure of whether what I was comprehending was true or not. The story does play on the idea that you can't really trust anybody, but does that mean they had to confuse the audience too? I mean, sure, but it's been a few weeks since I saw this movie and I'm still kind of boggled at the motivation behind the characters' actions.
What makes up for this confusion though is the acting and the script that helped make this feature enjoyable. While I was perplexed at a few twists and turns, the characters made you want to watch it even more by how ridiculous they came across. It's like their world is set in a universe where people take things very light heartedly.
There are some major things that occur that made me question the true morality of these characters, thinking that they are deep down terrible people, but this is highlighted with a lot of comedic dialogue, thus making me believe that the joke in watching this film is to laugh at how ludicrous they all behave and how life just moves on.
Stephanie especially reacts mundanely when Emily throws out incredibly suggestive things at her and comments on dark topics such as suicide. If I were Stephanie, I wouldn't have wanted to stay friends with Emily, however, the more I write out my thoughts the more I believe that's the point of the movie. Once again, the fact that any normal person wouldn't befriend Emily after all that makes the scenes even funnier when Stephanie becomes Emily's best friend.
The secrets that Emily hides are unveiled throughout the movie and are both predictable and non predictable. Predictable because once I knew what the biggest twist of the movie was, I told myself that I should've known better to figure that out before they revealed it. However, the reason I couldn't figure it out is because of Emily's actions. It's hard to explain without spoiling, but basically the actions that take place contradict the goal that Emily is trying to achieve.
There are also secrets that we discover about Stephanie that I feel attributes nothing to the overall story, unless it was just to create some interesting character development. With her backstory, Emily's backstory, and so on, it makes for a jumbled mess that is hard to follow half the time.
This was certainly a much more sexual movie than I anticipated. From the get go, there is undeniable sexual tension between Stephanie and Emily, as well as other characters on screen. Additionally, there is a bunch of swearing and minor nudity that doesn't reveal the character's most private areas, but definitely strips them down to their underwear.
As for violence, there is a scene including blood, but nothing gorey. Also, mentions of child abuse and a scene that doesn't show it happening but you can hear it going on. This would be a movie best suited to not watch with the family or with little children. It's much better suited to watch alone, with a partner, or with friends.
'A Simple Favor' was very funny, sexy, and mysterious and its comedic play on that made it even more entertaining for me to watch. I'm sure it was meant to show how wild people truly are on the inside while they put on this facade for the public, but I wasn't a fan of how convoluted things felt like nearing the end. Perhaps it is just me and I was distracted by my nachos, but I would be okay with watching this again with some friends.
If you do end up seeing this, expect to have several moments of laughter, but be focused on the plot, because you never know where it's going next.
I give A Simple Favor a 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
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I'm going to make it my mission to read all of the video comments on display whenever the movie goes to Stephanie's video channel.
Damn, already Emily is hitting on Stephanie. I was not ready for how hard she was hitting on the flirting.
Emily and the husband are going to get Stephanie to do a threesome with them. I'm betting on that now.
Those sassy side characters (the other parents) are acting like Stephanie is having sex with Emily and that's why she hangs out with her all the time. While based on Emily's behavior one would think that to be true, but don't they have anything better to do than judge other parents?
Stephanie's backstory with her half brother was....something else. Did she sleep with him because she reminded him or her dad? If so, eww. Also, I remember thinking that he took advantage of her but she did the exact same thing to him! Lastly, how freaking desperate and depraved do you have to be to not only sleep with someone on your father's funeral, in the house, but with something you just met and was informed was a family relative?!
Emily is going to use her brother story against her at some point, I can imagine.
Yes, Emily is missing now so she'll confess to Stephanie's secret to the whole town.
Let me guess, Stephanie and Emily's husband are going to get together. This...might actually be a good thing. We'll see.
Now let me try to talk like that to a boss and I'll have my butt on the floor.
So Emily really did die? Woah...that's surprising. Also, the husband looks genuinely devastated over this? How nice in that it's not going to be that typical, "husband killed wife for so and so"
I really do hate children cursing, and I notice that some people find it really funny in real life, but it just turns my stomach. However, I do understand why Emily's son would swear so much and say such mean things. For one: his mom died, and two: his mom raised him to be vulgar so it's not a surprise that he grew up doing the exact same thing.
I can already tell where this going. After the funeral, Stephanie will become so vulnerable that she'll sleep with her friend's husband, and yeah, they're sleeping together. What a surprise...
The clothes reappeared in Emily's closet! Is this a ghost story now? I didn't expect it to take this route, but I'm all for it.
Emily's husband is a jerk. You have the most perfect girlfriend now and yet you cheat on her. People...
Why is Emily contacting Stephanie? I thought she wanted to stay missing.
Why do I just feel like everyone will sleep with each other at the end?
The scene where Stephanie talks to the Jesus statue was a little cute.
That guy was way too creepy to just ask for something from Stephanie. I hate when movies make people extra creepy for no reason.
Stephanie's half brother looks good. Everyone in this movie is super attractive, my goodness!
Blake Lively is Ryan Reynold's wife, correct? They're both so attractive...and I can tell by her role here that Blake gives Ryan a run for his money.
Emily looks stunning in the outfit she wears to the cemetery. Also, having martinis over your grave is so cool. I hope to do that someday.
I can tell that as the twins talk, they only show one of them at a time and if they are together it shows it from far away or with one of their backs turned. Clever move.
If Emily didn't want to be found, why did she send the letter and rearrange her closet in less than 5 seconds? Did she just want to scare Stephanie while she was gone? If so, then that's dumb because of course she'd notice this and probably tell someone.
So Emily and Stephanie want to jail the husband, but then Stephanie changes her mind and wants to jail Emily instead? But Emily intended on killing both of them anyways? I...my head...
They're making the sassy male parent hitting Emily with the car as this triumph moment that his character was building up to, which feels odd because I never liked him at all.
So Emily's in jail, the husband moves on with his son, and Stephanie becomes more successful with her channel...and she has to still live with the fact that she slept with her brother and had a child with him, which was important to know because...?
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