Another Simple Favor: More of the Same, Just Further from Home

My dad and I have this ongoing conversation about the difference between "films" and "movies." Films are art meant to challenge and move audiences; movies are commercial products designed to entertain and turn a profit. Paul Feig's Another Simple Favor is unquestionably a movie—and, to be clear, there's nothing inherently wrong with that. It's well made, fast-paced, and entertaining enough to watch, which makes Amazon and MGM's decision to release it directly to Prime somewhat puzzling. Having watched it on the big screen myself, this glossy cocktail deserved at least a quick theater run.

Picking up five years after the original Simple Favor, we find Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick) releasing her tell-all book about Emily Nelson (Blake Lively), neatly recapping the first film while setting the tone for what’s to come this go around. This immediately establishes the movie as: A) a comedy with varying success rates, B) riding the true crime wave with enthusiasm but not depth, and C) perfectly content being a piece of popcorn entertainment.

After a whirlwind series of exposition scenes, the script—co-written by Jessica Sharzer and Laeta Kalogridis—whisks our heroines off to Capri for Emily’s wedding to an apparent Italian mafioso, bringing in tow Stephanie's scene-stealing book tour manager played by Alex Newell. The story settles into an Agatha Christie meets The White Lotus mystery-lite that's more interested in beautiful people in beautiful places than genuine suspense. Soon, someone quite literally drops dead, and in a convenient turn that screenwriting professors might flag immediately, the wedding must go on—because nothing says "plot device" like a destination wedding that can't be postponed despite a murder.

For Lively, playing mysterious and duplicitous comes naturally, which adds an unintentional meta quality given her ongoing It Ends With Us press drama. As Emily and (mild spoiler alert) her sisters, Lively brings a polished inscrutability to her scenes. She's strikingly glamorous, continually unknowable, and always one step ahead—though whether that's intentional character work or a function of the script staying safely within her range is up for debate. At times I found myself seemingly watching the return of Lively’s most famous character, fashionista Serena Van Der Woodsen from the original Gossip Girl. But, if the woman next to me who hastily reapplied lip gloss as soon as Lively appeared is any indication, this wasn’t a bad thing. Her absurdly detailed costumes—which she pulls off with a bit of a knowing grin—are one of the most memorable and unique features of the entire movie.

For Kendrick, this role feels like a comfortable retreat to familiar territory after making her own directorial debut last year. (I guess it was either this or The Accountant 2, which interestingly enough is getting better reviews.) Kendrick gets plenty of screen time but isn't asked to stretch much beyond her established persona from Pitch Perfect, which was a bit disappointing considering the range she’s portrayed elsewhere. It seems we're quite a distance from the emotional depth she displayed in her Academy Award-nominated turn in Up in the Air.

Returning cast members include Henry Golding as Sean, Emily's now disgruntled ex who turns to alcohol to cope with the plot twists rearranging his life, and Andrew Rannels and Bashir Salahuddin as supportive characters who remain stateside this time around. Both are welcome presences, though their limited screen time suggests production constraints more than creative necessity. And in terms of new characters, I particularly enjoyed Alison Janney as Emily’s long-lost Aunt Linda, though she’s largely playing the same droll comedic notes she performed with more energy in Feig’s Spy almost a decade ago. Still, it’s nice to hear the singular way she can drop F bombs.

It’s somewhat striking that this is Feig’s first sequel to his own work, especially when compared to the more obvious threads that could’ve been explored in follow ups to Bridesmaids or Spy. But he manages to bring a commanding hand to the proceedings that keeps everything in line, even as the plot continues to bop around in random directions. And the moments where his comedic sensibilities managed to break through the tight script, particularly in a moment with a hotel maid, generated the loudest laughs at my screening.

Perhaps the biggest star of the film though is Capri itself. Or at least the sparkly, brightly colored version we get to luxuriate in as the bodies start piling up and the central mystery unravels. Honestly, good for everyone involved with this project that they were able to get away with making a movie this mid in a location so gorgeous.

Which brings us to my main takeaway about this movie: in our current era of reduced production budgets and post-strike caution, there's something to be said for a modestly budgeted sequel with familiar faces that delivers exactly what it promises—no more, no less. Another Simple Favor isn't trying to reinvent the wheel; it's just giving it a fresh coat of paint and a scenic backdrop. And, for a moment, it seems like the movie factory within Hollywood is operating just fine.

Like a well-mixed but not particularly innovative cocktail you might order at a chain restaurant in the suburbs, this movie goes down easy but doesn't linger long in the memory. It's a pleasant enough diversion that knows its audience and serves them faithfully, even if it occasionally feels like it could have taken a few more risks along the way. But, upon reflection, perhaps it’s enough to disappear into a fun distraction for a few hours these days—you can certainly doom scroll through the mass horrors of 2025 with something worse on the TV in the background.

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