Another Simple Favor Review
Director: Paul Feig
Date Created: 2025-05-02 00:03
2.5
Another Simple Favor Review: This movie is the sequel to the 2018 dark comedy-thriller, A Simple Favor and is under the direction of Paul Feig. The film stars Blake Lively as stylish and mysterious Emily Nelson, and Anna Kendrick as over-enthusiastic and nosy single mum and vlogger Stephanie in the main lead. It also features Andrew Rannells, Bashir Salahuddin, Elizabeth Perkins, Michele Morrone, Elena Sofia Ricci and others. This time the story takes us all to Capri, Italy, with the two frenemies for another surreal escapade involving murder, trickery and mix-ups. Where the original movie had charm and a sense of slyness, its sequel overreaches, feeling more soap opera than smart mystery.
Another Simple Favor Review
Honestly, I was thrilled to hear a sequel was announced for this film. I enjoyed the original film for its style and gripping plot. But now that I have watched Prime Video’s Another Simple Favor, I am disappointed. While it starts strongly with Stephanie and Emily reuniting after having lost contact with each other for years, the film quickly gets out of hand with a twist and turn-filled plot that’s more absurd than suspenseful.
The story picks up years after Emily was arrested for staging her death and getting in the middle of a murder case. She’s back and getting married to a mysterious Italian guy named Dante Versano. Stephanie, willing but suspicious, attends the couple’s wedding in Capri as Emily’s maid of honour. Right off the bat, something is a little off there -Dante has connections to the mafia, and Emily’s past still hangs like a shadow over everything
One of the things I didn’t like about this movie was how over-the-top the plot became. It’s confusing because it has so many characters and twists. No sooner do you think you’ve got everything sorted out, another new turn arises: Emily has a half-sister unknown to her, another woman who is the spitting image of her, there’s a villainous aunt orchestrating a scam, mob connections, phoney tattoos, and even attempts at murder.
It was like the writer was tossing every soap-opera-like plot they knew and put it in this movie, hoping it would be interesting and keep us watching. But instead of that sense of brilliance, what I had begun to feel was that it was kind of a mess and unrealistic.
Blake Lively, as always, is pretty and does a great job playing the icy, deadly Emily. She’s got that kinda cool-ish quality, and I sorta enjoyed her pieces. Anna Kendrick’s Stephanie is also awkwardly quirky, but her sleuthing seems shoehorned here. Her nosiness in the first film had made her a relatable amateur detective, but here she is caught up in a universe too vast and perilous for her. Additionally, the lead players did not feel connected so powerfully or as believably this time.
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One of the things I found hard to accept was how quickly Stephanie was framed for murder and how events got out of hand without a clear reason. Nor was it simple to determine who was faking to be whom — Charity faking to be Emily, Emily faking to trust individuals she clearly didn’t, etc. It simply feels like the film lost its plot. Rather than being a clever, hip mystery, it became a strange mix of mafia drama, family business and psychological turns.
I will say that the location and cinematography were beautiful. The Capri scenes were lovely, and some of the costume design, especially for Blake Lively’s character, was perfect. The movie had moments where it looked like it could redeem itself, but it never was for more than a moment. Every time it was getting interesting, some unbelievable twist ruined it.
Summing Up
Another Simple Favor movie feels like the sequel that exists just because the first film was successful. It tried to be even bigger and wackier than the original film, but in the process, lost what made the original film so great, a tense story, with people you cared about. The acting is good, the looks are great, but the plot is overpowered, and the feelings aren’t strong. I didn’t hate it, but I did not enjoy it either.
Another Simple Favor 2025 is now streaming on Prime Video.
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