Paul Feig gave us an entertaining, sexy mystery with the 2018 movie A Simple Favor. He’s back, along with Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively, with the sequel Another Simple Favor, currently streaming on Prime Video, but where the first was a clever look at motherhood and being a girl’s girl, Another Simple Favor feels like a rehash of some of the worst parts of the original.
Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick) is promoting her book about the events that made her an online celebrity. She no longer focuses on how-to videos for moms, but she is now doing more investigative work, often in the true crime genre. While at a reading, in walks Emily Nelson (Blake Lively), released from prison and about to be married to Dante Versano (Michele Morrone). Emily asks Stephanie to accompany her to Italy to be the maid of honor in her wedding. Stephanie accepts, thinking that perhaps this trip could boost book sales.
As wedding events begin to unfold, so does the drama. Dante’s mother, Portia (Elena Sofia Ricci), questions the nuptials. Emily’s Aunt Linda (Allison Janney) arrives, upset at being left out of the entire affair, even though she was the woman who delivered the triplets. Emily’s ex, Sean (Henry Golding), arrives with their son, Nicky (Ian Ho), belligerent and wanting to fight any custody access that Emily would want. But of course, family drama is not everything. A series of murders takes place, with Stephanie being framed, so she must try to figure out who the real killer is.
The set-up for Another Simple Favor is solid enough. Murders at a wedding are a classic mystery situation, and moving it to Europe is a classic sequel proposition. But where the first film had something interesting to say about friendships between women and how moms are perceived in society, this movie is more interested in nudging us with a “do you remember this from the first movie” energy that feels like it gets in the way of the storytelling.
This isn’t to say that there are no redeeming qualities for Another Simple Favor. As with the first movie, the frenemy vibe between Kendrick and Lively is on point. The two of them are genuinely fantastic in that they can make the audience feel just a little bit off-balance with the way they interact. The costumes and sets are gorgeous and beautifully shot. There are also intriguing aspects of the mystery that the writers could have developed into a compelling examination of modern marriage juxtaposed with traditional marriage.
Sadly, what could have been was not realized, and instead, we were left with a much more disappointing and flat story. The mystery reverted to many of the same beats from the first movie without adding anything new or interesting. Allison Janney was criminally underused, ending up as a cheap plot device instead of an interesting character. The twist ending somehow feels both visible from a mile away and shoehorned in. The lavish sets and gorgeous costumes look great, but they don’t hang on anything of real interest.
Part of the charm of A Simple Favor was the naivete of Stephanie. She was just a mom trying to create a friendship with a woman who was much more sophisticated than her and running a mildly successful YouTube channel. Now, she is a woman running a true-crime channel, and she knows how to make her own martini, thank you very much. What’s disappointing is that there are aspects of this character that could have been played in a way that might have made the story more gripping. Throughout the film, she struggles with some of the ramifications of her new role as a true-crime podcaster. She is trying to sell books. All of these things are interesting motivations for her, but none are explored in any kind of meaningful way. Instead, the film doubles down on incest jokes. Which, quite honestly, weren’t all that funny the first time.
The lack of any kind of thoughtful or interesting themes could have been overlooked if Another Simple Favor had at least provided a mystery that we could sink our teeth into. But even that felt recycled in a way that didn’t satisfy at all. The setup was interesting, but when it came time for the reveal, it made all of the previous work feel cheap.
Mystery is one of the best genres for film sequels. There are an unlimited number of stories that can be told, and when you have two leads that work well together, they can add an extra layer to the storytelling that can allow for an engrossing movie-watching experience. Movies like Knives Out and television shows like Only Murders in the Building show the potential for this kind of film. Unfortunately, Another Simple Favor focuses more on the lead characters than the mystery, and the result is that it’s hard to care about any of it.
Rating: 2.5/5
Another Simple Favor is now streaming on Prime Video.
Learn more about the film, including how to watch, at the official website for the title.
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