A Simple Favor is a crossroads between comedy and thriller set in a suburban noir mood about a single detective mommy v-logger, Anna Kendrick who takes it upon herself to solve the disappearance of her cold, fashion-plate (in her mind) BFF Blake Lively.
“Secrets are like margarine — easy to spread, bad for the heart.”
Kendrick (Stephanie) is an overly active and exhaustive helicopter mom who’s a widow and is raising a grade school aged son. She practically likes to volunteer for every activity in her kid’s school, thus making other parents feel inadequate about themselves. Stephanie’s also a v-logger who babbles and apologises a lot, and when she is not at her son’s school, she’ll demo DIY’s and whisper to her “followers” about her freshly baked cookies.
Lively (Emily) is a high fashion career woman who works in a couture house and struts her aura in stiletto-clad business suits. She wears a cool attitude that is dry and cold just like the gin martini’s she drinks in the afternoon with a charitable parenting style. She’s terrifyingly powerful, beautiful and has everything that one could hope for, including a man – but there are loose and chilled subtexts to Emily’s life.
One day Emily invites Stephanie over for drinks and a mere play date between their kids (who are like North and South pole), turns into an unexpected friendship between the two women. They are like an odd couple who talk about everything from their past and present and therefore are seen together all the time sharing their dirty little secrets. It is then that Emily asks Stephanie of that one simple favor; could she pick her son, Nicky from school? And after that, Emily doesn’t return home.
So, what’s the story behind the mysterious disappearance of Emily? And to what lengths does Stephanie goes to, to unearth the her BFF’s secrets.
In A Simple Favor, you will get to see the best of Lively and Kendrick. They are raunchy, funny and show their side of complexity within their characters with the weird twists and turns as their friendship grows into what could be a scam. You sort of know where the story is going, but something or the other always happens when you least expect it. So, how far does Lively take it for Kendrick to show us her bad ass side? You see a huge growth in Kendrick’s character, she’s sky-rocketed and I think she’s a diverse actor. Blake Lively is beckoning and after Gossip Girl, I loved watching her mean side. It’s so hard for you to ignore her because she’s sexy and a work of art, and if you love her, don’t apologise because just like in her own words, “Baby, if you apologize again, I’m going to have to slap the sorry out of you.”
Overall, A Simple Favor is a guilty pleasure. The delicious pairing, complex plot, an interesting cast and solid performances individually by the actors is worth watching. Since it wasn’t played in the cinema, I’d tell you to get a DVD or download it ASAP. And if nothing else, go for Lively, her costumes, and just her please? – OMG! They’re the style inspiration everyone needs right now so you can become your own POWER WOMAN!
SiddySays Rating: 4/5
