Another Simple Favor Parent Guide

Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) has learned that true crime can be a real PR boost, and her mommy-influencer blog now feels like a true-crime podcast. Emily (Blake Lively) is still in jail after everything that happened in A Simple Favor, and Stephanie has managed to turn the mess into a book, which as her agent reminds her, is underselling pretty dramatically.

Then Emily turns up. Now out of jail, and planning her wedding to a mysterious, wealthy Italian, Emily asks Stephanie to be her bridesmaid, Stephanie says yes. If nothing else, spending time on an Italian island with a woman she exposed as a murderess ought to do wonders for her blog. And besides, Emily threatened to sue her into oblivion if she refused. Once in Italy, things go as expected – all the day drinking and dramatic fashion Stephanie expects from Emily. And then the bodies start turning up…

If you, like me, remember almost nothing about the specific details of a thriller that came out seven years ago, fear not. The film’s script is happy to exposit necessary backstory to you on an as-needed basis, so you don’t need to do what I did and spend the opening credits reading the plot synopsis for the original film. That may sound tedious, but it’s a real time saver, and the movie is pretty aware of what backstory is relevant and what isn’t.

As with the original, you can expect some steady drinking, sexual innuendo, a weird focus on incest, and some bloody violence. I mean, what did you expect from the comedy-thriller about sociopathic socialites at a mob wedding? If you avoided all the alcohol and violence, all you’d have left would be opening and closing credits. Another Simple Favor is, of course, a poor choice for families and youngsters, but that’s hardly the target audience. This is, in almost equal measure, a wine-mom comedy, a mystery thriller, and a fashion shoot for Blake Lively in outlandish apparel.

My expectations were low, and maybe that’s to the films benefit, but I actually had a tolerable time. The plot isn’t groundbreaking, but the performances from the lead cast are all fun, the writing is pretty zippy, and the surroundings are just gorgeous – the film was shot in a UNESCO world heritage site in Italy. If I had to nitpick, I’d say it’s probably fifteen minutes too long, but it doesn’t drag so badly that you’d notice. But if a film is forcing me to nitpick, that means it’s met the low bar of being watchable.