Here is my full review of A Simple Favor.
A Simple Favor, directed by Paul Feig, centers around Stephanie (Anna Kendrick), a mommy vlogger who seeks to uncover the truth behind her best friend Emily's (Blake Lively) sudden disappearance from their small town. Stephanie is joined by Emily's husband Sean (Henry Golding) in this stylish thriller filled with twists and betrayals, secrets and revelations, love and loyalty, murder and revenge.
Paul Feig hits it out of the park with the pacing of the film. He teamed with an action based cinematographer in John Schwartzman who's work on Jurassic World, Armageddon, Seabiscuit, Pearl Harbor and The Amazing Spiderman allow for Feig to amp things up a bit. Add in Paul's regular editor Brent White and you have something really entertaining and with a breakneck pace. The constant movement showcased allows for the nidicolous plot to be slightly overlooked. If there is a huge complaint it's at the wild story we're told and it does seem way to crazy. The ending in particular seems dull with all that goes on prior. The social media aspects would need to have been more established for the ending to truly pay off. But the pacing allows for the fun action to really keep your mind off the mystery elements.
Anna Kendrick as Stephanie Smothers and Blake Lively as Emily Nelson have wonderful chemistry that really shines throughout their scenes together. The two beauties really dominate ever scene they are in and thus the film is fully on their heels. Outside of Andrew Rannells witty quips everyone gets pushed the back of whatever Kendrick and Lively are doing. Young Ian Ho plays Lively's foul mouthed son, Nicky, and he is the other shining star out of the cast. His angry tirades lead to some fantastic sequences and also are pivotal to the plot moving along.
The real treat of the film is the incredible musical score and soundtrack done by Theodore Shapiro. A mixture of Latin flair and hip hop really elevate Paul Feig's pacing to another level. The music carries us through so many moments that easily could have lingered and stalled the film. Anna Kendrick has one of the funniest moments with a car rap along that had the whole audience laughing. Shapiro's musical choices also help amp up the fashion design of the film. The exotic looks mix perfectly with the upbeat music. Lively especially seems to float through her scenes with these wild and sexy outfits that are scored to a fiery beat.
The comedy is on point, both cheesy and also really witty at the same time is tough to pull off. Paul Feig is a master at that type of touch. Granted the plot does have many holes and will cause fits for any mystery lovers. But if you're looking for a fun entertaining film with a bold style then this is it.
