A Simple Favor

I really like Paul Feig. He's delivered a series of solid comedies, including Spy, Bridesmaids, and The Heat, has an awesome reputation for wearing a suit on set, and even took up the thankless mantle of directing the Ghostbusters reboot. He also plays one of the counselors in Heavyweights and yes you should rewatch that movie and google images because he is infinitely more dapper nowadays. He's a male director that makes female centric movies and seems to get the best of out his casts/premise. That's like a finding a unicorn in Hollywood. So I had to see him drift into trashy-thriller territory with A Simple Favor.

Anna Kendrick is Stephanie Smothers a recent widow and mommy vlogger with a school-aged son. Though typicaly isolated, either by her helicopter parenting or other judgmental parents, Stephanie finds an unexpected friendship with the glamorous and brusque Emily (Blake Lively). But when Emily goes missing, Stephanie is left to pick up the pieces and find the truth behind her friend's disappearance.

I haven't seen a movie like A Simple Favor before. I've seen plenty of twisty turny thrillers made by great directors, but none with the same approach. A familiar structure with different execution. Here's what makes this movie interesting and fun.

Paul Feig's Direction

Modern thrillers try to ape David Fincher. They limit the light, use intense close-ups, and revel in the griminess of their material. And that tends to work, because trashy tales of murder, sex, and deception makes sense when they feel gross.

But Paul Feig goes another way. Almost all of the film is shot during the day in white rooms with characters wearing bright colors and high fashion. And I really liked it. The aesthetic matches films black comedy tone, aka don't take this too seriously we certainly aren't. Everyone is impeccably dressed and looks stunning, and in modern thrillers in stands out. It's trashy material that doesn't look trashy.

I also want to point out how Feig handles the sex scenes in this movie. A lot of director's film sex by highlighting sensual or tactile elements (show-off the bodies and go for visceral moans and groans). But Feig ignores those elements and shows faces. Instead of glorifying the sex we see how they feel. Are they afraid? Are they conflicted? With Feig's sex scenes you actually know.

Stellar Acting

Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively are phenomenal in this movie. Lively gets the showy role, as the foul-mouthed misanthropic fashionista, which is doubly delightful. Not only does she get to remove the good-girl image she's been given thus far, but there's something oddly delightful about being a dick when you're dressed for fashion week. She also gets to show off her comedic timing in the banter scenes with Kendrick (another under-utilized tool in her arsenal). I really hope she gets more roles like this.

Kendrick, by comparison is our audience POV character. The early portion of the movie leans on Kendrick's familiar "nice but awkward" persona since Stephanie is still trying to establish an identity and as a result every social interaction feels forced. What's great is watching her shed this image and watch her gain confidence and power.. The movie has a great check-in device with Stephanie's vlogs that start off feeling forced and gross, but become more compelling and honest as the plot moves forward.

It's an honest portrayal of how a toxic person can shape you for the better.

A Knowing Tone

A lot of thrillers try to sell the audience on "the drama." Everything is super serious all of the time and every revelation is meant to shatter your world. A Simple Favor doesn't buy in. Instead the film tends to undercut confrontations and big moments with jokes. For most the part, this works. It diffuses the shocking element and keeps us curious about what's going to happen next.

There's a handful of times where this is distracting, i.e. there's a few too many jokes in the climax, but otherwise it's refreshing to see a movie like this nod to its absurdity and tease it.

Verdict: Fun and Refreshing

A Simple Favor proves Paul Feig is no one-trick pony and gives its leading ladies time to shine. Check it out. 8/10