Another Simple Favor again brings Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick together in a crazy twisty plot about murder. The not-so-secret Sapphic attraction between them still simmers in the background, but gets even crazier.
Remember in A Simple Favor, the prequel to Another Simple Favor, when they found Emily (Blake Lively) floating dead, face down in the water? Except it wasn’t Emily, it was her twin sister. Well, that was just part of the story.
Emily has been in prison for a few years. She gets sprung by super rich Dante (Michele Morrone), who plans to marry Emily. He’s an Italian gangster, but cute. The wedding will be on the island of Capri.
Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) is in the middle of a book talk for the book she wrote about Emily, when in walks Emily. She wants Stephanie to come to Capri and be her maid of honor. Stephanie’s book agent, Vicky (Alex Newell), loves the idea. Stephanie’s friend Darren (Andrew Rannells) likes the idea. Stephanie can’t resist Emily. She goes. After all, she’s obsessed with Emily.
When they are in Capri for the wedding Emily’s Aunt Linda (Allison Janney) and Emily’s deranged mother Margaret McLanden (Elizabeth Perkins) show up. This does not make anyone happy. Dante’s mother Portia (Elena Sofia Ricci) invited them. Emily wants them to go away.
Emily’s former husband (Henry Golding) is there with her son. Emily is glad to see her son, who is now into flying drones near everyone’s heads.
Then people start dropping like flies. Murder everywhere. Stephanie gets blamed and arrested. Emily shows up where Stephanie is being held, but she’s really different. One goofy twist after another keeps things reeling. People keep trying to kill Emily and Stephanie – should they stick together?
The LGBTQ subtext rises to the surface in jokey ways. We see Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick kiss, but it’s not the kiss fans have been waiting for. We see Blake Lively kissing herself (don’t ask), and we see some handsome Italian men kissing each other.
The characters were like cartoon caricatures, they were so poorly filled in. The plot was farcical and cringe in some places. I loved the scenery on Capri and costume designer Renée Ehrlich Kalfus did a swell job keeping up the fashion vibe from A Simple Favor. Although I enjoyed Another Simple Favor, I didn’t think it was as good as the original.
The final scene was a setup for yet another simple favor movie. Director Paul Feig wants to do it again.
The film is streaming on Prime Video. If you watch it, I’d love to hear your thoughts about it.
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I’m a retired physician. I found your blog. I like your style and commentary.
There is certainly not much online for educated folks over 60. WSJ and NYT have some regularly featured older contributors.
I’m trying to become a high school teacher, but so far not a lot of acceptance. I’m not if it’s my age or medical background.
Good luck on your job hunt. One thing I learned when applying for jobs as an older person was telling the HR people I already had health insurance. That was a bonus in my favor. Our high schools could definitely use good science educators.