Movie Review: A Simple Favor

What you need to know about the new thriller

Photo by Matt McCabe

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Director Paul Feig’s newest movie A Simple Favor is a thriller that keeps the viewer intrigued to the very last minute. (Please be advised that it has a deserved “R” rating.) It is a stylish mystery based on the novel of the same name by Darcy Bell. Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick are an unexpected dream team when it comes to following the crazy twists and turns of the two young moms’ lives.

Stephanie Smothers, played by Anna Kendrick, is a widowed mommy vlogger who spends her time volunteering in her community in attempt to become the best mom possible her first-grader Miles. She is a bubbly and slightly awkward stay at home mom who posts a series of videos about her parenting tips for fellow mothers. When Miles asks for a play date with his classmate Nicky she begins to hang out with the boy’s interesting mother, Emily Nelson, played by Blake Lively. Emily is a cool and chic woman who works as a public-relation executive in New York City. She is married to Sean Townsend, played by Henry Golding; he is a charming one-time best-selling novelist who is now a college professor. They live what looks like a lavished life in a beautiful home in the suburbs of Connecticut but are terrifyingly close to financial bankruptcy.

The two women bond over martinis and secrets, and eventually start considering each other best friends. It became normal for Stephanie to pick up Emily’s son Nicky after school. The mystery begins when Emily leaves for a number of days and doesn’t come to pick up her son, she is later reported as a missing person. The police were doing their best to figure out why Emily had disappeared but Stephanie decided to investigate her friend’s past on her own as too many questions begin to pop up.

This is when the story truly begins to twist. Stephanie starts to find out how much of an enigma Emily really is. Stephanie’s snooping brings her on mini trips and new experiences as she follows the clues of Emily’s disappearance while she broadcasts her new adventures to her vlog.

This movie’s fast past plot is nothing but fun and exciting and will most likely be this autumn’s biggest blockbuster.