A Simple Favor, based on the novel of the same name by Darcey Bell, follows stay-at-home-mom and vlogger Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick) as she seeks to find her missing best friend, Emily Nelson (Blake Lively). Emily and Stephanie meet at the school their sons attend after the two boys insist on having a playdate. As they continue meeting each other, Emily refuses to have her photo taken, among other things, and Stephanie quickly discovers how enigmatic Emily truly is. One day, Emily asks her to do the simple favor of picking up her son from school. As she becomes entangled in new relationships with those her friend left behind, Stephanie uses both her investigative skills and her vlog in order to find out what happened to Emily. Directed by Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, Ghostbusters), the delicate balance of humor and thrills is exceptionally noteworthy, as this is his first comedy thriller.
Speaking of thrills, the twists embedded within the movie are, for the most part, excellent. The film intertwines vlog clips with narrative shots and juxtaposes contrasting visual and audio to further heighten the mystery surrounding Emily’s disappearance and the ensuing events. The clues are prominent enough for observant viewers to begin to unravel the mystery themselves, but the conclusion is so well executed that even the most detective-like viewers will still be shocked. Besides the thriller aspect of it, the comedy was superb and well-timed. Equally praiseworthy, the characters don’t just claim to be skilled or to have a specific trait; in fact, many times they show their wicked streaks or demonstrate a talent for getting out of trouble before ever claiming to possess such an attribute. This, of course, was aided by Lively and Kendrick’s admirable performances. Their impressive on-screen chemistry, displayed through the complex and changing relationship between Emily and Stephanie, keeps viewers intrigued in Emily’s fate as much as the plot twists and mystique.
Regardless, some aspects of the film seem unnecessary or distracting from the central focus. To a certain extent, scenes such as those that involved the sometimes-antagonistic Detective Summerville (Bashir Salahuddin) added tension to the storyline and a sense of urgency to Stephanie’s search. However, many of the unraveled threads used to create this mystery remain loose ends or seem irrelevant, and while they don’t distract from the climax, it seems sloppy. Unlike a thought provoking film noir ending, these small quips and ramblings lead to confusion as many were left without any greater consequences for a character’s choices.
Ultimately, for a book that had a film deal before it even was published, A Simple Favor had high expectations to meet. Even for its minor flaws, it perfectly embodied its genre and was an enthralling experience.
Final Rating: 8/10
Indira Ramgolam is a freshman in Columbia College.