A Simple Favor
Lionsgate
Many touchstones of chick lit are evident here: Stephanie (Kendrick) works as a mommy blogger, while Emily (Lively) is the ultimate self-assured sophisticate, and there’s many twists and turns, which only a female driven mystery can provide. Of course, this film is based on Darcey Bell’s eponymous novel, but the tone and homages are completely directorial. Director Paul Feig decided to take all these working elements and splash in Hitchcockian features to create a sophisticated and fashionable millennial version of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl.
Though critics have fallen for the film, praising the performances, musical cues, and direction, A Simple Favor has severely divided its audience. Many friends I’ve talked to either hate the film or love it. Though there are some crazy elements, clumsy segues, and cartoonish schemes, I loved every moment of this film. Feig has created a film that I can only describe as a new wave director’s version of a Lifetime original movie; a marriage made in heaven. The supporting cast is exceptional, including new face Henry Golding, Linda Cardinelli as a woman done wrong, and Jean Smart as a sad sack hermit.
The mystery is only entertaining because it’s enjoyable to see formerly meek Stephanie hunt through clues to find the truth behind the disappearance of her newfound best friend Emily. Though Stephanie has her own secrets and embarrassing past, she pushes through it to question suspects, and what she finds is beyond the pale. Blake Lively plays a savvy, sexy, and constantly conniving PR director who listens to Serge Gainsbourgh and drowns her woes in strong martinis. Though I have not seen a lot of Gossip Girl, I would say with true confidence that this is Lively’s strongest role yet and she absolutely slays it. She’s strong, eerily brash, and thoroughly enjoyable as a woman without a filter. She and Kendrick make a great team onscreen, both as friends and enemies.
The issue many viewers have with the film is the absolutely zany way that key elements of the plot are revealed, and how complex many of the schemes are. It is true that there’s a lack of realism to the plot but that can easily be said of Hitchcock as well. Is it realist that a man dresses like his mother to kill young women in his hotel? Is it realistic that thousands of species of birds all band together to attack Tippi Hedren in a phone booth, or that a body double fakes her doppelganger’s death for the insurance money? Definitely not. Yet, Hitchcock is a seminal figure in film history and created the thriller genre. While not as revolutionary as the master of suspense, Feig made an entertaining homage that gratifies the old and young film lover.
