by John Z.
I am sensing a trend in films lately, based on seeing “Searching” and most recently, “A Simple Favor” and that is the use of and/or blending of social media in the telling of the story. In “Searching”, this was really a film almost told completely with the use of social media and the internet and while it worked because it was unique, it also got on my nerves after a while. With “A Simple Favor”, while social media was used in the film, it did not overtake the film but did play a part in the story line in a way that worked.
SPOILERS AHEAD
“A Simple Favor” is the story of a very involved, if not overachiever mom, Stephanie (played by Anna Kendrick), who lost her husband and brother in a car wreck (with a dark storyline there) and has been trying since then to make ends meet. She is also a prude - or so it seems as that is how she presents herself - and has her own vlog for other working moms on how to do things from making easy dinners to friendship bracelets. She is pretty much a loner until one day, by accident, she meets another mom, Emily, played by Blake Lively, who is almost her exact opposite. Emily is exciting, edgy, very wealthy (or so it seems) who brings Stephanie into her world and captivates her. The friendship is somewhat questionable at first and you wonder why someone like Emily would want to hang out with Stephanie. However, as the film goes on it begins to click and you think there are good intentions, until Emily just seems to suddenly disappear.
It's at this part of the movie that things really turn with a twist and pull you in - at least for a while anyway. Then, during the last part of the mystery when Stephanie begins to dig and find out things about Emily, the movie starts to turn into almost a satire or farce of itself. I wanted so badly for the film to stay on the path it was going down because it was so good as a mystery but it tries to be a ‘dark’ comedy and to me it just does not quite pull it off. There are some good twists and turns in the film and the acting is great. (On a personal note, let me just say that Blake Lively is absolutely as beautiful as ever and she was dressed like a knockout in every scene.). The movie does have some funny moments as well and does a good job of mocking certain stereotypes of people.
This is one I absolutely had high hopes for but after all is said and done I would say I would recommend waiting on this one to come out on DVD.
Originally Posted 9/16/18
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