OTT review 'Another Simple Favor': All style, little substance
When a sequel for Paul Feig's A Simple Favor was first announced, the biggest excitement surrounding the return to the mommy-world of Emily (Blake Lively) and Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) was, unsurprisingly, stitched to the sartorial choices of the leads. And this time around Emily's mid-century style quotient meets Stephanie's accidental espionage in the picturesque island of Capri, Italy. Visually, the film is a total treat. However, in an attempt to make it more than just another sequel, Feig dives headfirst into a sea of plot twists and murders, and Stephanie does so much sleuthing that even Hercule Poirot and Benoit Blanc might roll their eyes. Let's just say this time around, the cast and crew who left Connecticut for Italy, were joined by this little thing called subtlety.
With the Simple Favor films, the audience has no option but to willingly suspend their disbelief. So when Emily, aka Hope McLanden, walks out of prison after serving just five years, you don't bother making sense of the legal loopholes. Emily invites Stephanie to her second wedding—this time to mafia-macho-old-money-hottie Dante Versano (Michele Morrone, playing a surprising softie compared to his 365 Days alter ego). Much like the first film, Feig takes his time introducing the central conflict. While the snail-paced world building might have been less bothersome initially, thanks to the visual extravaganza that is Capri, our patience wears thin. With two murders, a heavy use of drugs, a suspiciously large inheritance, an estranged sibling, and more chaos brought into the picture, even Emily's abnormally large hats and clunky heels aren't enough to distract us from the delayed conflict resolution.
Fortunately, there's a positive twist to all this. Blake and Anna return with strong performances, breathing even more life into Emily and Stephanie, respectively. Take, for instance, the scene where Stephanie is injected with a truth serum. Her awkward candidness completely takes over the proceedings, and Anna delivers a compelling performance. Blake gets the chance to go beyond Emily's icy perfection, peeling back layers to reveal something darker and far more sinister. Her diabolism and deep-seated psychological issues come as a chilling surprise. Dialogues are another highlight of the film, which has a convincing supporting cast. The witty quips not only make us laugh but also help us momentarily forget the film's many flaws.
While Feig seems confident about spinning more sequels out of this world, maybe it's time he does himself a simple favour and moves on to fresher, meatier ideas. Because at this point, the franchise isn't twisting; it's just going in circles in high heels.
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