A Simple Favor (2018)

Directed by: Paul Feig | 117 minutes | comedy, crime | Actors: Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Rupert Friend, Andrew Rannells, Henry Golding, Linda Cardellini, Joshua Satine, Ian Ho

Where Paul Feig is, you can usually laugh. The versatile American – he writes, directs, acts and produces – started out as a stand-up comedian, but then turned to film. His greatest source of inspiration is Woody Allen, whose 1969 film ‘Take the Money and Run’ made an unforgettable impression on the then nine-year-old Feig (‘It felt like a religious experience’). Since the success of his film ‘Bridesmaids’ (2011), Feig has made it his trademark to put women at the heart of his work. Sometimes with success (in addition to ‘Bridesmaids’, ‘The Heat’ from 2013 and ‘Spy’ from 2015 are also worthwhile) and sometimes he misses the mark (‘Ghostbusters’ from 2016, the remake of the 80’s classic but with a All-female cast brought Feig a storm of criticism). With ‘A Simple Favor’ (2018) the director is breaking new ground. Humor is certainly still present, but this contemporary and stylish film is mainly a neo noir in which the viewer is misled more than once. The film is highly entertaining, thanks in no small part to the on-the-fly lead actresses Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively; the fun is splashing and that is contagious.

Kendrick plays the young widow Stephanie, the type of overzealous mother who has at least one in every schoolyard. When her son Miles (Joshua Satine) is at school, she is busy with her ‘Mommy vlog’ which she wants to inspire other mothers by giving them crafting, cooking or games tips. When we meet her, she tells in her vlog about her friend Emily (Blake Lively), who has disappeared without a trace since a few days. ‘She had asked me for a small favour; if I wanted to babysit her son Nicky (Ian Ho). But she hasn’t come back to get him.’ From that point on, we get to see through flashbacks how things went in the days leading up to this particular vlog. Stephanie doesn’t know her newfangled girlfriend that well; they only knew each other recently because their sons wanted to play with each other. Emily is Stephanie’s polar opposite: she dresses sexy and tough (and preferably with a masculine touch), lives in a closet of a house (but so cold you can hardly call it home), is married to the once-promising English writer Sean (Henry Golding), has a successful career as a PR lady for a well-known designer and prefers to spend her mommy days with a Martini on the couch. For the dowdy, self-effacing Stephanie, a whole new world opens up. When she has a drink with Emily, she becomes loose-lipped and reveals her deepest secrets. Was she that shy about having a girlfriend?

Emily turns out to have a dark side, Stephanie notices when she babysits Nicky one day and the boy isn’t picked up by his mother. Sean is in London with his sick mother and promises to come home as soon as possible if Emily is still missing the next day. Stephanie decides to give him some support now that he is on his own and decides to investigate in the meantime. Because something about this thing stinks. She appears to have a nice nose for detective work, although she is also confronted with secrets from her own past.

A Simple Favor, based on Darcey Bell’s debut novel, is Paul Feig’s most sinister film to date. But the suspense in this script written by Jessica Sharzer is counteracted by jet-black one-liners. Most striking is the squabbling in the schoolyard, between the fathers and mothers who quickly make their judgments. But the interplay between Kendrick and Lively is also a joy to watch. Both are often cast in these kinds of roles, but go into overdrive here, which fortunately has a positive effect. Stephanie in particular is a fascinating character: from the outside she is almost a caricature, but she appears to have several layers that slowly reveal more about who she really is. Interestingly, in the flashbacks, the images don’t always show the same as what the voice-over says and that makes you think: did everything Stephanie say really go like this? Her hypercorrect exterior turns out to be a mask for her true nature. Emily is the mysterious blonde, intimidatingly beautiful and sexy with her amazing outfits, but elusive and self-centered. Neither of them remains uncertain as to their actual motives and motives. Golding, who was also seen in ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ (2018), takes up this point; would he also have something to hide? The film looks and sounds wonderfully quirky, with a soundtrack full of fine French pop tunes and a matching beautiful production design.

Feig plays with the viewer and even though he throws out too many plot twists in the second part of the film, it’s mainly that game, and the fun with which cast and crew convey that, that sticks. Kendrick and Lively are given plenty of space to shine in this entertaining, humorous neo noir.