Directed by: Paul Feig
Written by: Jessica Sharzer and Laeta Kalogridis
Run Time: 2 hours
Paul Feig’s A Simple Favor (2018) remains one of the director’s finest films. Sure, it’s not as popular as Bridesmaids (2011) and it certainly didn’t make as many headlines as Ghostbusters (2016), but its magnetic and melodramatic mystery makes it a striking standout amongst his cinematic back catalogue. It’s quite simple to understand then just why he’s chosen to revisit it for the very first sequel of his career. And with marriage, murder and many, many more martinis at the ready, it’s a move that might just make Another Simple Favor, another Feig favourite.
Years after the events of the first film Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) has now become an amateur detective, documenting her cases on her true crime vlog. Amidst her investigations she’s also written a book about her unique experiences with Emily (Blake Lively) before she was sent to prison. While at one of her signings, Emily makes a surprise appearance revealing that she’s been released on appeal and is getting married. More shockingly, she goes on to invite Stephanie to the wedding and even asks her to be maid of honour. Naturally, Stephanie is hesitant assuming this is Emily’s plan for revenge, but threatened with a lawsuit for writing the book without Emily’s permission, she’s left with no other choice but to agree.
And just like that Another Simple Favor jets off to sunny Capri, Italy. It’s a suitably extravagant excursion to a perfectly picturesque location that gives the sequel a much grander feel. The opulence of this setting is of course matched by Renée Ehrlich Kalfus’ stunning costume design that sees Emily adorned in an impressive number of lavish looks. While the cast – both returning and new – create an extensive guest list of talent fit for the highest profile of weddings. So Another Simple Favor is undeniably bigger than its predecessor, but is it better?
Well, it unfolds with much promise. Stephanie and Emily’s reunion is punctuated with a delightful cattiness as the pair try to suss each other out again. Both Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively are as entertaining as they were in the original, creating a captivating chemistry that’s crucial to the central dynamic. And with the return of Henry Golding as Emily’s ex-husband Sean, the drama just keeps on coming. As the former couple’s reunion is even more heated, with Golding affording Sean a truly spiteful streak as he displays his grudge openly for all to see. It’s some of Golding’s most lively work to date and provides a considerable amount of the film’s fun.
It’s clear to see that screenwriters Jessica Sharzer and Laeta Kalogridis had a similarly great time crafting the juicy dialogue for these confrontations. It’s largely why the film’s first half works so well. Even the direction they take the plot in – the film’s revealed to be a murder mystery in the opening moments – has much potential. Yet, somewhere along the way their screenplay becomes too convoluted for its own good. The over-the-top twists and turns are of course one of the biggest appeals of films like these, and while it could be argued that Another Simple Favor is in on the joke, its script is neither as consistently sharp nor as effortlessly funny as the original for it to be considered a truly successful self-parody.
Instead, its increasingly elaborate elements take the film from an initially intriguing whodunit to a messy mystery hardly worth solving. Its uneven pacing makes the film’s nuptials feel never ending. While its attempt to liven things up with its array of new supporting characters – most notably Allison Janney as Emily’s Aunt Linda and Elena Sofia Ricci as her future mother-in-law – too proves fruitless, each only temporarily energising the proceedings before ultimately failing to make any lasting impact.
Eventually, it’s an awkwardly misjudged third-act subplot, that pushes Another Simple Favor completely over the edge that it’s been teetering on for much of its sluggish second half. And despite Blake Lively’s parachute-sized sunhat, it doesn’t stick the landing.
Star Rating: ★ ★
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