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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Thursday, March 28, 2024

Kendrick, Lively shine in 'A Simple Favor'

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A promotional poster for 'A Simple Favor' (2018), starring Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick, is shown.

At first glance, Paul Feig's “A Simple Favor” (2018) presents itself as a Gillian Flynn-esque tale of scandal, temptation and betrayal. The poster, which displays the film’s stars Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively poised in elegant, provocative poses, reinforces this noir theme: Lively stands towering over Kendrick, one hand perched on her hip, the other delicately clutching a martini glass, while Kendrick sleekly sits below her, the utter image of elegance. But while the film appears to be a run-of-the-mill seductive thriller, it is far more than initially meets the eye.

The film, centered around "mommy vlogger" Stephanie Smothers’ (Kendrick) obsession with her refined, wealthy enigma of a best friend Emily Nelson (Lively), boldly pushes the boundaries of what the film world considers a thriller by peppering in its own unique form of comedy. The movie begins by introducing the audience to two best friends who are polar opposites. Stephanie is a single mom who can best be described as a 21st century Martha Stewart-wannabe. She is the perfect PTA mom that other parents love to hate, and she runs her own website where she posts parenting vlogs about everything from kid-friendly smoothies to DIY friendship bracelets. Enter her best friend Emily, a public relations director at an upscale fashion brand. She is a sleek, detached woman whose idea of cooking is making a martini in the early hours of the afternoon. Stephanie revels in Emily’s glamorous lifestyle, despite the obvious cracks in Emily’s picture-perfect life. Stephanie's obsession with Emily only amplifies when one day, after asking Stephanie to do a “simple favor” and pick up her son from school, Emily up and vanishes, her location unbeknownst to anyone including her husband, Sean. From there, as Stephanie begins the search for Emily, she stumbles into a web of twists and turns that only grows larger and larger.

The film’s story has all the trappings of a standard mystery thriller, but Feig, best known for his films “Bridesmaids” (2011) and “Ghostbusters” (2016), as well as his work on “The Office” (2005–2013) and “Freaks and Geeks” (1999–2000), applies his own comedic twist to the film. Interspersed amongst dramatic twists are witty one-liners and dashes of physical comedy that are reminiscent of his prior work. So what exactly does this mix of humor and drama do for “A Simple Favor?" For most of the film, it's nearly impossible to discern what exactly “A Simple Favor” is and what it is trying to achieve. The film swings on a pendulum between thriller and comedy, and one of its pitfalls is that these genre swings are done with little finesse. Many jokes feel incredibly out of place, relying heavily on classic stylistic aspects of the thriller genre. It’s difficult to appreciate the humor of Kendrick quirkily throwing out a witty one-liner over eerie music straight out of a Wes Craven movie.

The story itself is also a shallow one. Most of the movie’s plot twists are fairly predictable and not incredibly original, something one may expect in an episode of “Pretty Little Liars” (2010–2017). In fact, most of the twists are tired-out staples of the mystery thriller genre. Had Feig used his comedic skills to satirize the tropes and make fun of their predictability, the plot twists would probably feel more palatable. However, the film firmly stands by the shallowness of its own plot.

Yet despite the plot being about as deep as a puddle and the awkwardness of some of the jokes, the film still engages the audience in an amusing, intriguing tale, thanks to knockout performances by Kendrick and Lively. Kendrick embodies every version of Stephanie that the film develops throughout, ranging from the quirky, somewhat socially-inept Stephanie that appears at the start of the film, all the way to the cunning and deceptive version of Stephanie that she morphs into by the end of the film. Meanwhile, only through Lively's snarky and nuanced portrayal of Emily do all of the complicated layers of the character come together believably. Both women carry the movie, and without their commendable performances, the entire movie would fall apart.

The second savior of this film is the over-the-top third act. Only by the last 25 minutes of the film does the genre pendulum stop swinging, and the film finally settles into true dark comedy territory. It is here that the humor and drama of the film truly come together and establish the movie for what it is: a rowdy, twisted tale that allows the audience to not only laugh at the subtle hilarity of the two women and their schemes, but also be pulled in to the ever-winding melodrama of Emily’s troubled life.

While this film may not be on the caliber of the works of David Fincher or Darren Aronofsky, it is still a gripping, seductive and, most importantly, entertaining film that features exemplary performances by its cast. If you’re looking for a fun, engrossing way to spend a couple hours, look no further than “A Simple Favor.”

Summary "A Simple Favor" lets stars Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively outshine its contrived script.
5 Stars