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Whether the word asked for Another Simple Favor or not, we welcome it with open arms. Director Paul Feig delivered camp delight with the 2018 original, which largely tied up its loose ends, even down to the post-script, itself a knowing wink to the true crime fandom it was satirising. Despite a disappointing pivot from theatrical exhibition to streaming release, Another Simple Favour heralds the return of Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively and Henry Golding, in a luxurious Italian setting and a dubbed ‘return to form’ for Feig.
Fresh out of prison on a technicality, Emily Nelson is set to be wed to an Italian businessman and needs a bridesmaid; Stephanie Smothers, needing to shift more copies of her debut novel based on Emily’s crimes, reluctantly agrees. But the Italian island is about to see its fair share of twists, turns, murder and betrayal - and no one is safe. Joining Kendrick, Lively and Golding are Michele Morrone, Elena Sofia Ricci, Elizabeth Perkins, Alex Newell and Allison Janney.
Plausibility was certainly not a foundational characteristic in the first A Simple Favor. Still, the sharp humour, self-aware tone and playful dynamic between its ensemble created a near-perfect whirlwind that the required suspension of disbelief could withstand, and the film thrived in a ludicrously entertaining chasm that made it something of a camp classic. Unfortunately, by overindulging in the aspects that made the original so entertaining, Another Simple Favor is an underwhelming follow-up hindered by forced narrative contrivances, which create an awkwardly peculiar dynamic for Lively and Kendrick to contend with, leading to an altogether lesser sequel marred by the sense that too many cooks spoiled a once enjoyable broth.
Necessity has never been a concrete requirement in filmmaking, but it certainly helps to feel, as an audience member, that your time is being respected. Another Simple Favor's screenplay, penned by Jessica Sharzer and Laeta Kalogridis, immediately strains to justify its audacious return, grasping at straws to rationalise Emily's release and Stephanie's decision to attend her wedding. In turn, the relationship between Lively and Kendrick is particularly awkward, one imbued with mistrust and discomfort on both sides that seeps beyond the page to the very nature of the performances themselves. Neither of them really knows where they stand with the other: if their relationship felt like the most glamorous game of chess the first time around, they are both playing entirely different games here, and both are unsure of the rules. Sadly, that apprehension is felt by the audience, and that crucial dynamic undermines the whole piece. Individually, Kendrick solidly anchors the sprawling mystery and Lively excels in chewing the scenery, an exercise that works in a film like this, but their stilted rapport is a distraction.
It's by no means entirely without charm. Paul Feig is a reliable director, and his breezy direction gives the film a weightlessness that helps with the ricocheting tone. Undoubtedly enriched further by the gorgeous locations and costuming, which give the film an irresistible visual splendour, while Theodore Shapiro's score does a tremendous job of attempting to tow the various genre lines the film plays with, weaving the tense and dramatic with the fun and playful.
If A Simple Favor was a delicious cocktail from a luxurious bar served by a beautiful bartender with a twinkle in his eye, Another Simple Favor is the supermarket-own knock-off. It gets the job done, and in the right circumstances, can be deemed as enjoyable, but you almost wish you hadn't bothered. So flimsy in its assembly, and less entertaining the more it leans into the preposterous twists and turns that made the first so propulsively compelling, Another Simple Favor will have you refusing any more acts of kindness.