A Simple Favor (2018)

2018 | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

100 mins

A blogger tries to uncover the truth behind her best friend's disappearance.



Produced by Lionsgate
Director Paul Feig
Writer Paul Feig and Jessica Sharzer
Cast Linda Cardellini, Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick

Images And Data Courtesy Of: Lionsgate.
This content (including text, images, videos and other media) is published and used in accordance with Fair Use.

Added By

Andy K

Added this item on May 3, 2018

A Simple Favor (2018) Reviews & Ratings (51)
9-10
15.7% (8)
7-8
64.7% (33)
5-6
13.7% (7)
3-4
3.9% (2)
1-2
2.0% (1)

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A Simple Favor (2018) reviews from people you don't follow
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Katey Bassett (610 KP) rated

Oct 26, 2019  
A Simple Favor (2018)
A Simple Favor (2018)
2018 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Great cast (2 more)
BLAKE LIVELY
ANNA KENDRICK
Not what I expected, but really liked it.
Thought this was great, definitely a good movie to relax to and watch on a casual Friday night. The women stole the show.
(6)   
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Kate (355 KP) rated

Feb 14, 2019  
A Simple Favor (2018)
A Simple Favor (2018)
2018 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Bordering on very good and excellent. Started watching it and thought it would be similar to Girl on a Train but how wrong I was, can't really talk about the film without giving too much away but there are plenty of twists and different tangents going on. The film has been narrated as if it was a true story with a voice over at the beginning and what happened next at the end, haven't read the book but don't think it is is true. One final thing always look out for the quiet ones.
(5)   
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Awix (3310 KP) rated

Oct 11, 2018  
A Simple Favor (2018)
A Simple Favor (2018)
2018 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Competently made and very well-cast suspense drama (kind of). 'Ordinary person' single mother and vlogger Stephanie (Kendrick) ends up becoming besties with dangerously glamorous and enigmatic fellow parent (Lively); when her new pal vanishes, Stephanie decides that something suspicious may have taken place...

Very very much in the same vein as Gone Girl, to the extent that people would probably have been screaming knock-off had this film not also functioned as a rather effective black comedy - you may be wondering what a light comedian like Kendrick is doing fronting a thriller directed by a comedy specialist like Paul Feig; well, this is the reason why. This may also be the reason why the film is cheerily up-front about how far-fetched its own plot is. Not the kind of movie that really lingers in the memory, but nicely put-together and fun while you're watching it.
(5)   
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BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated

Apr 8, 2020  
A Simple Favor (2018)
A Simple Favor (2018)
2018 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Well Worth Watching
I'll start this review by stating for the record - I LIKE BLAKE LIVELY. I think the former Gossip Girl star is extremely watchable and interesting - and in the right role, can take over a film.

And...in A SIMPLE FAVOR...she is in the right role.

Also starring Anne Kendrick (INTO THE WOODS), A SIMPLE FAVOR tells the tale of a suburban mother (Kendrick) who forms a friendship with a lively (no pun intended) working mom (Lively) - from "The City" no less - who asks her friend for "A Simple Favor" - watch her child while she tends to some urgent business. When the working Mom goes missing, the suburban Mom starts snooping into what happened.

Directed by Paul Feig (BRIDESMAIDS), A SIMPLE FAVOR finds itself in a bit of a "no man's land" of style and genre. Is it a made for TV Movie like BIG LITTLE LIES (no...it's ambition and production style is more ambitious than that). Is it a "Major Motion Picture" a la GONE GIRL (no...it's not that ambitious). Is it a satire on the suburban Mom (partially), a whodunnit (partially), a mystery (partially) a black comedy (partially).

And that's what is in this film's favor - and it's biggest issue. It's hard to define and pin down and the feel of the film floats all over the place, as do the performances of the leading ladies.

Anna Kendrick is perfectly well suited to play the frumpy suburban Mom, Stephanie, who's underlying unhappiness is masked by the perma-grin and energy of that Mom who volunteers for EVERYTHING at school. She is more than balanced by Lively's scene-stealing performance as Emily the working Mom from NYC that doesn't take crap - or orders - from anybody. Their scenes together are uneven and unbalanced - and that is perfect for what Stephanie is going through. She encounters a force of nature in Emily and is just trying to hang on for dear life.

And there, again, is where the issues of this film (and it's strengths) show up. Sometimes - it seems - that Stephanie is getting a foothold, only to slip and fall. But then she gets her foothold stronger and a whole new character emerges, only to have it slip again...and then she is SNARKY...and slips back to mousey...and then she is CLEVER...and slips back to mousey...and the she...

You get the idea. It keeps the audience guessing and off-guard, but the change in tone hurts the overall flow of the film.

It, ultimately, becomes a fairly clever whoddunit that had me guessing (for the most part) until the end, so I have to admit - I ended up enjoying it - mostly because of Lively's energy.

Letter Grade: B+ (well worth your time to check out)

7 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank (OfMarquis)
(4)   
A Simple Favor (2018) reviews from people you don't follow
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Erika (17789 KP) rated

Sep 15, 2018 (Updated Sep 15, 2018)  
A Simple Favor (2018)
A Simple Favor (2018)
2018 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Warning: This is an outright comedy
Before I read any reviews on this film, I thought it was a thriller, and the trailer sold it as a sort of Gone-Girl-Girl-on-the-Train-esque film. Then I read one review, which warned that it was comedy, and the comedic elements outweighed everything else.
Anna Kendrick's character is slightly insufferable for me in the beginning, the 'mommy vlogger', but she was a perfect contract to Blake Lively's character. Henry Golding was great, and I didn't mind looking at him for nearly 2 hours.
The end was bananas, and not in a particularly good way, because it was messy. On the bright side, this is the first Paul Feig movie I'll be able to watch again.
(4)   
Show all 3 comments.
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Sarah (7800 KP) Sep 15, 2018

I didn't think this was a comedy either!
(1)

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Erika (17789 KP) Sep 15, 2018

Right! I'm glad I read the review from Birth.Movies.Death or I think I would have been really annoyed not to have had a warning that it was a comedy.

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Kim Pook (101 KP) rated

Jul 23, 2020  
A Simple Favor (2018)
A Simple Favor (2018)
2018 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Contains spoilers, click to show
As soon as the movie starts we learn that Stephanie is a vlogger who's "best friend" Emily is currently missing and we are thrown into a backstory of how they met. We also discover that Stephanie is a widower and Emily isn't the nicest of people, she's always criticising Stephanie and even freaked out when she took her photo, yet Stephanie still wants to hang out with her and share secrets etc. I guess Stephanie just has a hard time making friends so clings to the first woman who speaks to her, sadly this is a thing as I've known people who have done this in real life. Anyway the last time Stephanie hears from Emily, she is asked to pick up her child from school for a few hours and she's never heard from again. Stephanie and Emily's husband take it upon themselves to find out where Emily is, the investigation is short lived when Emily is found dead.
The movie was very captivating especially an hour before the end. There was so many unexpected twists and turns, just when you get over one twist another is thrown at you. There is a little humour in it, however, this humour can sometimes takeaway the seriousness of the movie as it is a little far fetched at times. You'll understand when you watch 😉
(3)   
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Dork_knight74 (881 KP) rated

Jan 19, 2019  
A Simple Favor (2018)
A Simple Favor (2018)
2018 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Not bad
This one came up on a list of if thrillers to watch so I checked it out. It actually surprised me. The description doesn't do it justice. Started out a little slow but it took some turns and twists that weren't expected. Great story all around with very good performance by Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick(both good actresses). The cinematography was well done, too. If you're into mystery/thrillers with a touch of comedy thrown in, you'll enjoy this movie. Worth a watch!
(3)   
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Sarah (7800 KP) rated

Sep 26, 2018  
A Simple Favor (2018)
A Simple Favor (2018)
2018 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Blake Lively (0 more)
Everything else (0 more)
Confused and dull
Having read other Smashbombers reviews, I did at least go into this film knowing it wasn't an out an out thriller, but that still didn't prepare me for what followed.

This film really can't decide what it is; dark comedy, thriller? It seems to seesaw between the two for the entire 2 hour run time, with very little success in either genre. There are a few funny-ish (I smiled a bit) parts but most of the humour is a little bit cheesy or niche. The thriller side too is very predictable, and most of the twists you can see coming a mile off - this almost feels like a second rate comedy rip off of Gone Girl. And then the final act just goes completely bonkers and ridiculous.

Anna Kendrick plays the same character she always does, and I've finally had enough as shes starting to grate on me. Some of the supporting actors like Andrew Rannells aren't given anywhere near enough screen time (loved him in Girls). The only one to come out of this film unscathed is Blake Lively. She's very charismatic and surprisingly endearing, despite her characters reputation and actions. I have to admit, I have a bit of a girl crush on her - id love to be able to dress like that at work!

For the most part, this film was pretty dull and predictable, and was only entertaining whenever Lively is on screen, which wasn't nearly often enough.
(3)