Not quite Hitchcock

SIMILARITIES: BUT AUDIENCE IS LEFT FEELING SOMEWHAT EMPTY

Film burdened with ludicrous twists and a mystery that falls easily into place.

ASimple Favor is one of those movies that is inspired by the teasing style of Alfred Hitchcock. Unfortunately, its aspirations don’t quite reach the intriguing heights of that cinematic master.

The story centres on Stephanie (Anne Kendrick), a mommy vlogger who turns detective to find her missing best friend, played by Blake Lively.

A vlogger is a person who does a sort of blog, but as a video for thousands of mothers to watch.

The character is an inquisitive individual who makes it her business to track down clues to find her friend, whom she suspects was murdered by her handsome husband, played by Malaysian-born model-turned-Henry Gooding.

Stephanie is a widowed mom with a young son.

Enter Emily (Lively). Her son attends school with Stephanie’s child and the moms wind up spending an afternoon together.

One day, Emily calls Stephanie with a favour: she’s got to deal with an issue at work and could Stephanie pick up Nicky from school and watch him for a few

hours? Stephanie, ever agreeable, says yes immediately. Then Emily never comes home.

Emily’s disappearance begins to shake things up and the story reveals that Stephanie harbours secrets, too.

The movie is burdened with ludicrous plot twists and a mystery that falls too easily into place.

With Stephanie taking on a sort of Nancy Drew role, Hitchcock similarities emerge, but one is left feeling somewhat empty at the end.