A Simple Favor, the fun-yet-tonally-baffling 2018 comedy-noir about a mom vlogger (Anna Kendrick) who becomes entangled with an impossibly cool con artist (Blake Lively) built a word-of-mouth cult on Kendrick’s comic chops, Lively’s incredible suits, and their sexual tension. The sequel is more yet less.
Again directed by Paul Feig from a script written by a returning Jessica Sharzer (and Laeta Kalogridis), Another Simple Favor takes the duo to Capri – the gals go Italian, essentially. Stephanie Smothers (Kendrick, still funny), the vlogger turned citizen detective/true crime nerd, is now a published author of a mildly successful book about the previous movie’s crime. Emily Nelson (Lively, still tall) moseys into one of Stephanie’s book signings when she really should be in prison, demanding, then forcing, Stephanie to be Emily’s bridesmaid at the latter’s wedding to an Italian hunk and possible made man Dante (Michele Morrone). When guests start dying, Stephanie and Emily are forced to team up (sort of) to prove both are innocent of the various murders. Stephanie remains a wise-ass, Emily is still incredibly well-dressed, and the sapphic tensions are still present (even if Emily’s outfits are just a touch more femme than last time).
Some familiar faces have a few lines here and there. Andrew Rannells drops in as Stephanie’s pal, while there isn’t nearly enough of the genuinely funny Henry Golding as Emily’s ex-husband and baby daddy Sean, perhaps the very best-looking human being an audience has ever been asked to think is a loser. As for the new folks: Italian cinema staple Elena Sofia Ricci pops in as Dante’s stereotypical mob mom Portia, while the always welcome Allison Janney arrives as Emily’s mysterious aunt. And yes, that is Elizabeth Perkins taking over from Jean Smart as Emily’s mother Margaret; the very obvious wig is a nice touch.
Kendrick and Lively make a decent team; it would be fun to see them as completely different characters in a completely different kind of comedy. Feig has avoided sequels in the past and for good reason (though there isn’t a comedy nerd in the world who wouldn’t want to check in on the cast of Freaks and Geeks, 25 years later). And yet, this one sets up a third volume – may I suggest Another, Simpler Favor?Screens again Saturday, March 8.
Another Simple Favor
Headliner, World Premiere
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This article appears in March 7 • 2025.