Review of A Simple Favor (2018) by Trina B — 16 Sep 2018

It turns out that this mysterious thriller is actually a dark comedy. Based on the book A Simple Favor [Movie Tie-in]: A Novel, the movie is twisty and twisted. This film really surprised me. I love being surprised.

The audience I sat with absolutely loved the movie and saw the clever humor in everything. It's always so much fun to watch a movie with an audience that really gets a movie and loves it. Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively have fantastic chemistry together and really sell this movie.

Tips for parents:

Profanity, including TONS of F-bombs.

Lots of alcohol. The Aviation American gin used in the martinis is actually owned by Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively's husband.

A character uses heroine.

Talk of a threesome.

Sibling sex scene in bed with some clothes on. ICK. Super gross.

Two women kiss.

Nude paintings.

Lots of cleavage and a naked backside.

Murder scene.

Someone asks, "Are you a mother?" The other lady answers, "Yes. I love every minute" and then the first person says, "Then you must have brain damage." What a terrible thing to say. Parenting is very hard, but be sure to let your kids know that you love them. Don't ever let your kids think they're a mistake and not wanted.

The characters in the movie have a serious lack of good judgment.

Uplifting theme:

Friendship - Choose your friends wisely.

Marriage.

Trust.

Parenting.

Greed.

Honesty.

Re-set your life.

Things I liked:

Blake Lively is gorgeous and talented. She seemed to tap into her real-life husband's edgy Deadpool vibe for this role.

If you liked Crazy Rich Asians (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Combo Pack) (BD), you'll love that Henry Golding plays the husband in this movie. Click here to see my movie review of Crazy Rich Asians.

Pitch Perfectfans will love watching Anna Kendrick in this movie. She even gets to rap a little bit.

The writing by Jessica Sharzer and Darcey Bell was very good. Darcey's novel was changed a bit for the story in the movie, but that's kind of what always happens, right?

Directed by Paul Feig, this movie blends genres and pokes fun at everything.

Great job with the movie trailer and poster. They were delightfully misleading. Normally, I get ticked off for something like that, but this time it was a pleasant surprise.

Some will like the fashion aspect of the film. Costume design is very good. Blake Lively is gorgeous. Have I mentioned that already?

The French movie Diabolique gets a shout-out in this movie. Have you seen it? Neither have I. Sounds intriguing though, right?

Things I didn't like:

I hate seeing gossipy, back-stabbing moms in movies. Even more in real life. I guess I just hate admitting that vicious people like that really exist.

The tone really changes from Act One to Act Three.

Some really cray cray decisions.

Funny lines:

"Prudes are people too." - Emily Nelson (Blake Lively).

"You're such a nerd." - Emily.

"She doesn't know she's working for free." - Darren (Andrew Rannells).

"America's hybrids...silent, but deadly." - Darren.

Interesting lines:

"I think loneliness probably kills more people than cancer." - Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick).

"She's like a beautiful ghost." - Sean Townsend (Henry Golding).