Paul Feig’s Another Simple Favor, the belated sequel to 2018’s sleek, subversive A Simple Favor, is back with more couture, cocktails, and crime; only this time, it’s gone international. With returning stars Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively reprising their twisted friendship in the world’s most dangerous game of mommy blogger meets femme fatale, the sequel […] The post Another Simple Favor Review: Blake Lively & Anna Kendrick’s Stylishly Silly Sequel appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More.
Paul Feig’s Another Simple Favor, the belated sequel to 2018’s sleek, subversive A Simple Favor, is back with more couture, cocktails, and crime; only this time, it’s gone international. With returning stars Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively reprising their twisted friendship in the world’s most dangerous game of mommy blogger meets femme fatale, the sequel aims to raise the stakes. And while the results are uneven, Another Simple Favor is still wickedly fun in all the right places.
The film picks up several years after the original, with Stephanie Smothers (Kendrick) now a successful author whose world is once again rocked by the reappearance of the effortlessly manipulative Emily Nelson (Lively). This time, Emily invites Stephanie to Italy to be her maid of honor at what seems to be a very un-Emily event: her wedding to suave Italian businessman Dante Versano (Michele Morrone). Naturally, Stephanie is suspicious, and for good reason. As the backdrop shifts from suburban Connecticut to scenic, sun-drenched Europe, Another Simple Favor trades PTA drama for mafia machinations, pulling Stephanie into a convoluted web of deception, family secrets, and gun-toting gangsters.
If the first film was a suburban Gone Girl filtered through Feig’s lens of glossy black comedy, the sequel blows up that formula, for better and worse. This time around, the twists are more numerous, the tone more cartoonish, and the plot more bloated. Yet despite the chaos, the movie retains a sly sense of humor and playful tone that makes it hard to resist, especially when its two leads are on screen together.
Blake Lively once again proves she’s dynamite in morally gray roles. Emily remains as caustic, unpredictable, and immaculately dressed as ever, and like the original, what makes her compelling here is Lively’s almost casual delivery of every venomous line. She’s magnetic precisely because she never seems to be trying too hard. Watching her manipulate her way through mafia tension, wedding drama, and family secrets, while rarely breaking a sweat, is still a thrill. It’s so fun to see Lively in a role where she’s unapologetically not the best person in the room, but rather one of the most dangerous.
Kendrick, meanwhile, brings her signature brand of awkward charm to Stephanie. Her line readings remain pitch-perfect, whether she’s panicking in Italian or trying to deduce a hidden mob connection from someone’s Instagram feed. She’s effortlessly funny, and while Stephanie’s detective storyline feels more disconnected this time around, Kendrick carries it with such wide-eyed sincerity that you can’t help but root for her. That said, one of the film’s biggest stumbles is giving Stephanie a subplot that feels entirely divorced from the central mystery. It’s as if the writers realized halfway through that she needed more personal conflict and hastily inserted it. In doing so, the story loses some of the tight focus that made the original so effective.
In fact, that lack of focus is the film’s Achilles’ heel. Where A Simple Favor was a sharply plotted thriller with dark comedic edges, Another Simple Favor tries to do too much. There are twists involving mafia relatives, long-lost family members, and surprising twists. Some of it lands, but much of it feels like narrative clutter. The core tension between Stephanie and Emily, the frenemy dynamic that powered the first film, gets diluted in all the excess.
The supporting cast is a mixed bag. Henry Golding returns as Emily’s ex-husband Sean, but he’s given little to do beyond angrily reacting to chaos. The ever-growing ensemble (including Allison Janney, Elena Sofia Ricci, and Elizabeth Perkins replacing Jean Smart) starts to feel like one too many puzzle pieces crammed into an already busy board. Some characters exist only to further a single twist or exposition dump, and their presence makes the story feel more crowded than layered.
Still, even at its most ridiculous, Another Simple Favor is never boring. Feig’s direction is stylish and breezy, and the Italian setting gives the film a luxurious sense of escape. There are moments, especially in the first hour, where the sequel captures the same lightning-in-a-martini-glass energy as the original. And while the mystery may be less compelling, the laughs are just as sharp.
Ultimately, Another Simple Favor doesn’t surpass its predecessor, but it doesn’t crash and burn either. It’s messier, louder, and less refined, but still undeniably entertaining. Kendrick and Lively continue to be an electric pairing, and even when the plot goes off the rails, their chemistry keeps the film anchored. If the original was a high-end cocktail, this sequel is a bottomless brunch mimosa: a little too much, a little too bubbly, but hard to resist all the same.
SCORE: 6/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 6 equates to “Decent.” It fails to reach its full potential and is a run-of-the-mill experience.
Disclosure: ComingSoon attended a press screening for our Another Simple Favor review.
The post Another Simple Favor Review: Blake Lively & Anna Kendrick’s Stylishly Silly Sequel appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More.
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