Review of A Simple Favor (2018) by Jon C — 14 Sep 2018

Director Paul Feig known mostly for comedies takes a more sinister turn making a mom-noir thriller with two very talented and beautiful leads.

Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively bounce so amazingly off one another coming from opposite ends of motherhood.

Stephanie is a timid, awkward overworked video logger while Emily is a successful city fashion public relations person who is more loose with her morals however uncomfortable they may seem.

The two women meet when their children leave from school and make a playdate; Emily seems to confide in Stephanie making her feel more secure about her troubles and opening up about secrets.

Emily's husband is a writer who hasnt published anything in years so they're both facing severe debt.

Things start to get strange when Emily calls Stephanie for a small favor to pick up her son, but soon after Emily vanishes.

There's no trace of her at work, at home or from any of her friends; was she murdered, did she run away?

Stephanie uses her daily vlogs to document the progress of the search for her and as she digs deeper she may end up finding out some things about her that turns her around entirely.

She even finds the artist who drew her years back.

It's a shame one of Emily's contacts played by Linda Cardellini only has one scene.

But the strength is on both of these women and even the children are very good dealing with this whole traumatic experience.

Feig knows to handle the suspense, build upon twist after twist, and even sprinkle some dark humor.

A big lengthy but it is quite stylish with its tone, directness, and a better version of 'Gone Girl' going in multiple directions.

Motherhood is a full-time job, you have to take action even against the big guys, everyone has a dark side some people are just better at hiding it, and what secrets do we actually hide from ourselves?

A very good surprise from a well-known comedy filmmaker.