Another Simple Favor

Five years ago my wife and I watched 'A Simple Favor' and found it reasonably interesting and entertaining. So we settled in after dinner and wine to watch this sequel, streaming on Prime.

Had my wife not been watching also, I would have turned it off after the first 10 or 15 minutes. The main characters use the worst cursing language you can imagine, not to add to the story or the characters but just to use foul language. That was disappointing. But we stuck with it.

Blake Lively is back as Emily and Anna Kendrick is back as Vlogger Stephanie. This time they are going to the Isle of Capri for Emily's wedding. She sort of forces Stephanie to go along.

The first movie involves Emily using her identical twin in an illegal scheme to get money. In this movie we find out there actually were triplets, and now the third is entering the fray.

The overall story here is not that good, much of the dialog is misplaced, the situations mostly implausible.

Not a very good movie at all.

"Another Simple Favor" attempts to recapture the quirky charm and twisted energy of its predecessor, but mostly falls flat. While it brings back the stylish aesthetic, witty banter, and familiar faces, it struggles to justify its own existence beyond nostalgia.

The plot tries to outdo the first movie with more twists and over-the-top antics, but ends up feeling forced and unnecessarily convoluted. Instead of building on what made "A Simple Favor" fun and darkly clever, this sequel leans into exaggerated absurdity, often sacrificing coherence for shock value.

Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick still have chemistry, but even their performances feel a bit weighed down by a script that doesn't give them as much to play with. The humor is hit or miss, and while there are entertaining moments sprinkled throughout, they're not enough to elevate the overall experience.

In the end, "Another Simple Favor" comes off as a flashy, mildly amusing follow-up that forgets what made the original work. It's not terrible-but it's far from memorable.

"Another Simple Favor" tries to recapture the quirky charm and mystery of its predecessor, but ends up feeling like a forced, over-the-top sequel that forgot what made the original work. The plot is needlessly convoluted, filled with implausible twists that seem to exist just for shock value rather than story cohesion.

Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick reprise their roles, but their chemistry feels strained and less natural this time around. Instead of building tension or emotional depth, the film leans heavily into absurdity and camp, losing the balance between dark humor and thriller that made the first film engaging.

All in all, I find it disappointing.

Am I too boring or too "proper" or is it strange for anyone else who thinks it's "normal" to normalize incest and include pedophilia in a movie that is presented as a comedy?

And am I the only one who doesn't see any humor in it and doesn't find the movie funny? If it's an attempt at eccentric humor, it failed miserably. Such a shame.

Anna works very well with humor. She has a humor a la Tina Fey. I think Blake is average.

I didn't expect much but I didn't expect too little either. It just sounds like humor that tries too hard to be subtle and too clever and fails at everything it tries!

It's a little bit sad! KK.

Are we supposed to remember the not very memorable movie from 2018 that this is a sequel to? Well according to IMDb I actually did watch that one, but no, sorry, I am drawing a complete blank.

Meanwhile this movie is just a jumble of ideas and none of them are very good. Lots of twists and turns that are supposed to dazzle us but there are no real stakes and there never is real tension to get the viewer invested. The parts that are supposed to be funny work here and there but even then... Great locations though.

I think Paul Feig peaked with Bridesmaids and that is almost 15 years ago. Maybe it is me that is getting too old for this.