Shaky thriller saved by a good cast
ASIMPLE Favour is a modern take on either comedy or crime — I really can’t decide which. Directed by Paul Feig, who gave cinema-goers Bridesmaids and the new Ghostbusters, this movie feels more like an episode of Little Big Lies (the Nicole Kidman-starrer) rather than a meaty crime thriller.
The story is about mummy vlogger Stephanie (played by Anna Kendrick) who befriends a chic Emily (Blake Lively).
Stephanie, a gauche wanna-be glam puss, is obviously in awe of well-heeled Emily, who has Henry Golding (travel host to Hollywood hottie on Crazy Rich Asians) for a screen husband.
So, when Emily asks Stephanie to pick her kid up after school, it’s no problem. But then, a few days go by and Emily doesn’t show up.
So Stephanie starts becoming a sleuth, and a vamp to boot, by taking over Emily’s husband, Sean. A rather weak chap who happily sleeps around when his wife is, er, missing, maybe even dead.
But you can’t blame Stephanie because she gets to move into a lovely house, wear some designer clothes, and hear Golding’s British accent every night.
Anyway, to find where Emily has gone takes you down a twisty path, to a Bible camp, among other places.
Stephanie finds out that Emily’s been lying about a lot of things including her realname.
A boozy Jean Smart plays Emily’s mum, who spills the beans about her daughter, and in this case, it’s a plural.
So Emily has a twin, and they both kill easily. But it’s easier to not be part of a set of twins if you want to escape a murder charge. They split up, and one pretends to be Emily who gets many dreams answered — including the charming husband.
So what happened to Emily who has all this going for her, that she ups and disappears?
It’s about an insurance payoff, and one twin lands bottoms-up in a lake, while the hubby has always been in on the whole deal.
Stephanie is still duped by not-reallyrich Emily, and falls in with her plan to get that insurance money.
But does she really? There’s a scene when the real confession to murder comes up, and fake blood even.
Screenwriter Jessica Sharzer and novelist Darcey Bell whose book the premise is based on must have a ball coming up with the last few scenes.
It felt like a Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz ending — meaning you don’t know whether to laugh, cry or be shocked.
Millennials will love the part when the mummy vlogger who turns out to be a fantastic detective has been live streaming the murder scene.
The killer line? When you cross with mums, you cross with us all. And it all started with a simple favour.
It’s a rollercoaster movie plot, entertaining but not quite Sherlock Holmes or Fargo by the Coen Brothers.
The cast must be given credit for carrying the interest in the movie. Lively and Kendricks play opposite characters, and deliver them well enough to be believable.