Directed by Paul Feig (Ghostbusters) — Screenplay by Jessica Sharzer and Laeta Kalogridis.
Set several years after the events of the first film, Paul Feig’s Another Simple Favor still follows content creator Stephanie Smothers (played by Anna Kendrick), who is now also known as an amateur sleuth and a true crime novelist. One day, at a book signing event, Emily (played by Blake Lively), also known as Hope, shows up to meet with Stephanie, after Emily had recently been released from prison. But, according to Emily, this isn’t really a confrontation as much as it is a very public invitation to Emily’s upcoming wedding. Emily is marrying into an Italian crime family, and she would like Stephanie to tag along and serve as her maid of honor. Hoping to evade a potential lawsuit and, at the same time, increase her book sales, Stephanie agrees to Emily’s proposal and goes with her to Italy. However, when people from the wedding party start to drop dead, Stephanie suddenly finds herself as the main suspect.
Although I must admit, I haven’t revisited it in quite some time, I was a pretty big fan of Paul Feig’s original A Simple Favor, which was essentially his lavishly costumed and twisty take on Gone Girl with a strange tonal balancing act. Therefore, I was cautiously optimistic about the sequel, even though it didn’t seem particularly necessary from my point of view. So, how is the sequel? Well, to be honest, it feels like reheated, microwaved leftovers that, ultimately, don’t hit the same on the second go around despite having all the same ingredients. Sure, there are new things, as this feels less like a Gone Girl-inspired flick and more like a classic wedding-set murder mystery in a vacation location filled with Italian crime families. Nevertheless, it feels like more of the same, only with it now feeling slightly passé.
There are still great highs for fans of the first film, as the costumes are still spectacular (wonderful accessories and well-thought-out outfits, including an Italian gangster look with a big red rose next to Lively’s suspenders), and the Lively-Kendrick dynamic is still quite fun. But it’s a shame that Andrew Rannells and, especially, Henry Golding have such small appearances here, despite the fact that Golding is asked to play much less charming (the original film made many think he could be James Bond) and much more angry and drunk. Instead of Rannells, who is only really there in a handful of scenes, Feig has included Alex Newell, who I think plays their character a little bit too over-the-top, which, again, was perhaps also the case with Golding. Frankly, Another Simple Favour, ultimately, just ends up feeling a little bit too convoluted (with too many twists), a little bit too ‘been there, done that,’ and, frankly, a little bit too overlong. These won’t necessarily be cardinal sins for all fans of the first film, but they do make it feel much less special.
5 out of 10
– Review written by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.
I'm Jeffrey Rex 