A Simple Favor had one of the most interesting viral marketing campaigns of this year, as one of the lead actresses deleted all of her social media to digitally get into character. This actually intrigued me, as I really believed this film would be a chic, engaging, and stylish thriller. While I did enjoy its style and writing, I was balancing back and forth on the line of whether or not I loved it, just as the movie was balancing on a blurry line of what genre it was trying to be. Despite this film's lack of focus in many various aspects, I loved the story and how it was told, surprisingly coming from the directorial mind of Paul Feig.
Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively absolutely shine in this film about loving mommy blogger Stephanie (Kendrick) who befriends a mildly alcoholic, upper-class mother named Emily (Lively) after realizing their sons go to the same elementary school. After becoming closer and closer and Stephanie learning a bit *too* much about Emily, the latter goes missing without a trace. Kendrick and Lively are definitely the greatest parts of this entire production. Their performances and chemistry together are truly unmatched and I would really like to see some future films that they do together (ahem, a buddy cop movie). They were both able to exemplify their heightened, if not stereotypical, characters very well and the radiant charisma that came from not only them, but the supporting cast as well, was incredible. This film was really made special in the sense that I could not think of better casting for their parts. Jessica Sharzer's screenplay was adapted from the novel of the same name by Darcey Bell and while I have not read the book, I appreciated most of what Sharzer did to translate this to screen. The first and second act in particular consistently built up the suspense and relationships between the characters that had me engaged the entire time. Taking a novelty character trait like mommy blogging to give Stephanie her main personality contrasted very well to the darker and cruder persona of Emily. The twists and turns of this plot in the third act of this movie kept me on the edge of my seat, but none of it really felt necessary. As in some films where the plot twist contains every detail carefully built into the narrative throughout the movie, this film could have ended multiple ways at any time and still been sensical. The multiple "twists" in the end just seemed like extra layers to throw off the audience. While this makes for an entertaining film, it did not really further anything plot-wise or clear up any confusion.
Another element of the writing that I found a bit too cinematic was Stephanie's motivations. Throughout this film, she is constantly tested: whether it be to her loyalty to her best friend Emily or to her newfound relationship with Sean (Henry Golding), her motivations did not make that much sense. Since many of the expository scenes, Stephanie is made out to be this articulate and caring mother that is afraid of change, only wanting to do what's best for her son. As she and Emily become closer friends, however, she begins changing but not how I would typically expect. The two most profound examples of this are her getting together with Sean, Emily's husband, and Stephanie's reasons for sleuthing. After Emily's supposed funeral, Stephanie instantly falls in bed with her "late" husband Sean. I suppose this helped to further these characters but within about a week, she had confessed her love to Sean and began to move in with him. This rapid character change threw me off and I was not quite sure what had even prompted Stephanie to practically take Emily's place, given that was not her personality in the slightest. Once Emily is revealed to still be alive and plotting with her husband to get the insurance money, I still do not know why Stephanie did not simply just walk away. Perhaps the mystery of the Nelson/Townsend family brought lots of viewers to her vlog, but there was no part of her written character that would motivate her to remain a part of the drama.
The tone in this film may work for some and may not for others and I am still not sure of my own opinion. Feig definitely fused the comedy and mystery aspects of this film very well, but there were many scenes that could not decide which side it was aiming towards. A few misplaced lines of dialogue or an awkward encounter would distract me from an otherwise dramatic or sensual moment. I did really love the different genres of media that this film was satirizing, however. Uncovering a mystery like Veronica Mars, engaging in some steamy *ahem* extramarital affairs like Gone Girl, and cracking a joke like Feig's earlier work The Heat all blended decently to make this such a wild story. The design in this film was absolutely exquisite as well. Both the set and costume designers, Jefferson Sage, Patricia Larman, and Renee Ehrlich Kalfus, did incredible jobs in designing each individual scene and character in them.
I was not quite sure where I was headed as I watched this film and that was probably for the best. A Simple Favor threw me for so many different twists and turns that, while not entirely necessary, made for a very entertaining comedy-thriller. Paired with a fantastic cast and stunning design, this is easily one of the most re-watchable films of this year. And thankfully, the more I think about this film, the more I really like it, which is a good sign. I also really wouldn't mind having Anna Kendrick for a mom.
My Rating: ★★★½
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