Another Simple Favor: A Ridiculously Enjoyable Sequel

Another Simple Favor is the sequel to 2018’s highly acclaimed A Simple Favor, reunites stars Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively with director Paul Feig. After years apart, Stephanie (Kendrick) is still a vlogger and now a successful author when her old friend Emily (Lively) reappears in her life and invites her to her extravagant wedding in Capri, Italy to businessman/mafioso Dante (Michele Morrone). After the guests arrive to Capri, including Emily’s former husband Sean (Henry Golding), her Aunt Linda (Allison Janney), and her mother Margaret (Elizabeth Perkins), a murder would soon transpire, setting in motion a series of betrayals soon after that.

Another Simple Favor delivers a fun sequel that fans of the original film will eat up. Recapturing much of the camp, dark humour, and twisty nature of its predecessor, this sequel takes things in a different direction, and does not serve up a mere retread of its source material like so many sequels often do. Offering up more of a traditional murder whodunit than the first film, this choice ultimately works in its favor, adding a new flavour to the proceedings. While the film’s central mystery might not stick the landing, by the finale, it is fun to watch as it goes on as it gives audiences more clues and pieces to try and piece together. Meanwhile, the Capri setting is very easy on the eyes, making the cinematography pretty gorgeous to look at. An already interesting director, Feig produces what is arguably one of his best looking and finest directed films to date.

On the performance side, Kendrick and Lively once again light up the screen with their top notch chemistry. Kendrick makes for such a lively presence, and Stephanie is just so likeable, funny, and easy to root for. Lively, in particular, was just born to play Emily, and she is given a lot more to do this time around, making some truly intriguing choices throughout, especially with that hat. Golding, as Sean, feels like a completely different character, but that change works in what felt like a natural progression for the, following the events of the first film. Janney remains a hoot as always as the mysterious Aunt Linda, and Rannells is just a pure delight and responsible for some of the films biggest laughs as Darren. As a whole, the film is admirable in how it brings back much of the cast of the original film in a way that feels natural to the story, instead of forcing them into its new storyline.

Now as much fun as this is, there’s absolutely no denying how ridiculous it is, making this sequel far sillier than the first film despite dealing with more death, violence, and darkness. Adding to the fun of its first two acts, it absolutely derails the third, as the film simply take it way too far by devolving into a borderline unbearable soap opera. Not only are much of its final revelations fairly predictable, they are also rather dumb and not very satisfying. Entering the third act, it only gets progressively worse, and it even has the nerve to end with a sequel tease that comes off as very forced and unnecessary. Right on par with the first film through majority of its runtime, it is a shame how the third act brings it down, but not completely to the point of making the previous two acts worthless.

In the end, Another Simple Favor may not be quite as strong as its predecessor, but it is still a solid sequel capturing enough of the magic of the first film to please fans of the franchise. Regardless, it is worth watching if only to see Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively, and their terrific chemistry, share the screen once again as they fit these characters so well.

Score: 68/100

*still courtesy of Prime Video*

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Connor Carey

www.connorsmoviereviews.com/