Written by: Kevin Berge
She's just a common housewife. Can't you tell? (Image Courtesy of: hdqwalls.com)
Quick Take: A Simple Favor comes off as a fairly blatant parody of Gone Girl with enjoyable breezy action and comedy that is not serious enough to be a strong thriller nor funny enough to be a grand parody. Luckily, the primary trio of actors are all in top form to carry the movie.
***This review will not contain spoilers beyond the basic set-up of the film though those who want to go into A Simple Favor completely blind will not want to read ahead as it will set up one plot point early in the film that may be best delivered as a surprise.***
Gillian Flynn is taking over entertainment so quickly that parodies of her work are already being made into movies. At least that's what it feels like watching A Simple Favor, a novel from newcomer Darcey Bell that has been transformed into an oddly serious but utterly ridiculous thriller from Paul Feig (Bridemaids).
This is just a worse version of Gone Girl despite the best efforts of Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect), Blake Lively (Gossip Girl), and Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians). Feig has been known to make films like this, clear parodies that often improve on the subject matter, but here he just is not working with great material.
The movie is entertaining when you turn off your brain, but it gets so awkwardly convoluted when it is not trying to distract the viewer with overt sexuality and espionage that means so little. It's hard to even care most of the time about the violence.
The story follows Stephanie Smolders (Anna Kendrick), a sweet widowed housewife who becomes enamored with the fashion mogul Emily Nelson (Blake Lively). They become awkward but fast friends before Emily up and disappears, leaving Stephanie and Emily's husband Sean (Henry Golding) to find her.
From this point on, the mystery mounts up more and more until it is clear that false hints are everywhere. Once the ultimate reveal comes, there's not much more for the movie to offer, and it shows. The comedy comes out more and more almost as a crutch.
It is not that uncommon for a mystery to fail in its final execution, but A Simple Favor just feels like a failure from the opening act. It hides so much behind diversion to make up for a sloppy story.
Gillian Flynn is taking over entertainment so quickly that parodies of her work are already being made into movies. At least that's what it feels like watching A Simple Favor, a novel from newcomer Darcey Bell that has been transformed into an oddly serious but utterly ridiculous thriller from Paul Feig (Bridemaids).
This is just a worse version of Gone Girl despite the best efforts of Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect), Blake Lively (Gossip Girl), and Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians). Feig has been known to make films like this, clear parodies that often improve on the subject matter, but here he just is not working with great material.
The movie is entertaining when you turn off your brain, but it gets so awkwardly convoluted when it is not trying to distract the viewer with overt sexuality and espionage that means so little. It's hard to even care most of the time about the violence.
The story follows Stephanie Smolders (Anna Kendrick), a sweet widowed housewife who becomes enamored with the fashion mogul Emily Nelson (Blake Lively). They become awkward but fast friends before Emily up and disappears, leaving Stephanie and Emily's husband Sean (Henry Golding) to find her.
From this point on, the mystery mounts up more and more until it is clear that false hints are everywhere. Once the ultimate reveal comes, there's not much more for the movie to offer, and it shows. The comedy comes out more and more almost as a crutch.
It is not that uncommon for a mystery to fail in its final execution, but A Simple Favor just feels like a failure from the opening act. It hides so much behind diversion to make up for a sloppy story.
Just look at the beautiful people being beautiful. Now forget everything else for half an hour please. (Image Courtesy of: mystatesman.com)
Luckily, the movie is in capable enough hands to almost succeed as a complete distraction. Kendrick, Lively, and Golding have fantastic chemistry together, and it shows throughout. These are charismatic actor allowed to be as charismatic as possible.
As a director, Feig knows how to bring that out of his performers, and he does not let up. He also has created a colorful and vibrant film with a lot of loud chromatic settings. There's certainly a lot here to get lost in.
It's just a shame that the actual contents of the film never matter. This needed to be an outright comedy to work, but it's just too self-serious until it cannot hold up. The movie tried too hard to be Gone Girl without the talent behind the story in writing or direction to pull it off.
Moreover, it is hard to say this movie had any driving purpose. It's a story about a woman changing through an experience with a different world, affected by a fantastical element of an otherwise familiar world. What can be learned from such a journey?
Is this a feminist rallying cry meant to hold up the important role of a mother? Not really because Stephanie's relationship with her son is completely undeveloped at every stage. Is this a tale of how social influence can only take you so far? Maybe but it never dives that deep into Emily's effect on other people.
There's nothing inherently wrong with enjoying A Simple Favor. It just never goes beyond being purely enjoyable. It is an empty vessel of sex, violence, and humor that never commits to anything.
As a director, Feig knows how to bring that out of his performers, and he does not let up. He also has created a colorful and vibrant film with a lot of loud chromatic settings. There's certainly a lot here to get lost in.
It's just a shame that the actual contents of the film never matter. This needed to be an outright comedy to work, but it's just too self-serious until it cannot hold up. The movie tried too hard to be Gone Girl without the talent behind the story in writing or direction to pull it off.
Moreover, it is hard to say this movie had any driving purpose. It's a story about a woman changing through an experience with a different world, affected by a fantastical element of an otherwise familiar world. What can be learned from such a journey?
Is this a feminist rallying cry meant to hold up the important role of a mother? Not really because Stephanie's relationship with her son is completely undeveloped at every stage. Is this a tale of how social influence can only take you so far? Maybe but it never dives that deep into Emily's effect on other people.
There's nothing inherently wrong with enjoying A Simple Favor. It just never goes beyond being purely enjoyable. It is an empty vessel of sex, violence, and humor that never commits to anything.