ANOTHER SIMPLE FAVOR - Mark Reviews Movies

Another Simple Favor, Amazon MGM Studios

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Review by Mark Dujsik | May 1, 2025

At least A Simple Favor had the good sense to have something to say about suburban life and some of the personalities within it before the movie became overburdened by a convoluted plot. The unnecessary and increasingly silly Another Simple Favor comes right out of the gate with the idea that this sequel will be bigger, be more focused on ludicrous plotting, and not even bother with trying to be about anything else.

Taking a page from the first movie, co-writers Jessica Sharzer (returning from the predecessor) and Laeta Kalogridis tease the mystery that's to come with a brief prologue before an extended flashback shows us how the story got to that point. They also show off that the setting has transferred from small-town America to the scenic Italian island of Capri, where Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick), the do-it-all single mother whose vlog has transformed from focusing on mothering to true crime since her previous adventure, lets us know that she's once again suspected of murder.

The problem this time around once again comes by way of Emily Nelson (Blake Lively), who was arrested for and convicted of a pair of murders at the end of the previous movie. Just as Stephanie is starting a tour for the book she wrote about Emily's lifetime of criminal dealings, the first reading is interrupted by Emily's arrival. She has been released from prison while her case is on appeal, and if that doesn't seem too convenient an excuse for the filmmakers to try to bring back the conflict from the first movie, Emily also announces that she's leaving the country to marry a mysterious Italian businessman (played by Michele Morrone)—who might be involved in a shady, stereotypical form of business. She wants Stephanie to be her maid of honor.

Obviously, none of this makes any sense, so the screenplay and director Paul Feig (also returning) make a series of jokes about how illogical the premise, how contrived these circumstances are, and how blatantly the movie is hoping to recapture whatever dynamic existed between Stephanie and Emily. It's one thing for a sequel to be a naked retread of its predecessor. It's another for one to be so obviously desperate to make that attempt and be so insincere about the rationale behind it.

Even though she knows Emily has a reason to get revenge against her, Stephanie agrees to travel with Emily to Capri (A lawsuit threat seems like a poor, thin excuse, given that a lack of publicity seems as if the big problem with the book's sales). Sure enough, someone is killed (One of the somewhat clever games the script plays from the start is announcing who the victim is, only for us to realize the broad description could fit two people), and Stephanie finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery again, albeit with a few more suspects this time.

They're not nearly as interesting, amusing, or potentially complex as in the previous movie. Indeed, most of the returning characters here seem to have undergone quite a dulling stretch during the five years between these stories. For example, Sean (Henry Golding), Emily's ex-husband whom she tried to frame for her murder and to later murder herself, is now just a drunken, bitter man, also forced to come to the wedding by way of yet another questionable legal judgment. That the role is basically a glorified cameo doesn't make up for it, either.

Meanwhile, Stephanie has had the excitement of being an amateur detective drained out of her, following an investigation that has left her wondering if she was too eager to convict a man in the court of public opinion. Kendrick is one of the more inherently charismatic actors working today, so watching her go through the motions of this plot without that enthusiastic spark is pretty demoralizing.

Lively's character has basically become a caricature at this point, too. While the actress offers some bite behind an easy smile, it's strange how the screenplay goes out of its way to downplay the sinister nature of a character whose scheming, manipulative, and deadly ways are quite known to us—not to mention every other character in the movie, even though they all seem to forget or ignore everything they know about her.

That might have been an intriguing angle for an edge of satire here—that people are happy to overlook the obvious crimes of someone if that person is beautiful, glamorous, charming, and/or powerful enough. Another Simple Favor, though, has no such intentions or, for that matter, any others beyond trying to repeat the basics of its predecessor with more characters, more intentional or accidental absurdity, and a more picturesque backdrop. It's an overtly hollow endeavor.

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