Strong martinis, blunt words, incest, murder and pure confusion is what you can expect from seeing the film, “A Simple Favor.”
“A Simple Favor” follows two women as they strike up an unlikely friendship that quickly develops to “best friends” title within a couple of days.
Blake Lively plays a sassy but yet mysterious PR agent while Anna Kendrick plays the overbearing classroom mom. Emily requests “a simple favor” from Stephanie — to pick up her son from school and does not hear from her again.
Anna Kendrick takes great care of Emily’s son and husband while trying to piece together clues from Emily’s death. She quickly fakes her life. Until Emily demands hers back.
The characters are very complex and complicated, you never know how you’re going to end up feeling toward them. Of course Blake Lively steals the show with her beauty and melodramatic acting. But Kendrick adds that same quirky flare as seen in previous films like Pitch Perfect that makes super entertaining.
The film was shot beautifully , keeping you fully captivated at all times. Emily is clearly living life on the wild side using R-rated language in front of children , listening to inappropriate music, and keeping nude paintings of herself on the wall in a way she connects to us all.
Thanks to Anna Kendrick, and her inspiration for Nancy Drew she uncovers that there is more to Emily than meets to the eye. Through some heavy investigation, she uncovers information about Emily’s past that was unknown to everybody in Emily’s life .The film makes for a manipulative thriller that keeps you asking for more but afraid to do so.
All and all, if you want to watch a complex, Life-Time life film, “A Simple Favor, “is definitely worth going to a theater for and not squinting your eyes for the bootleg piece shown on the fire-stick.
Ashllee Spurlock
adspurlock@vwu.edu