Stephanie Smothers has another mystery to solve soon after reuniting in Capri with Emily Nelson in Paul Feig’s sequel to his 2018 surprise hit.
In 2018, director Paul Feig and screenwriter Jessica Sharzer took Darcey Bell’s airport novel A Simple Favor and made it into one of the best comedies of that particular year through its borderline parodic sense of humor, bizarre twists and turns, stylish visuals and infectious chemistry between stars Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively. Seven years later, Amazon MGM partnered with the original film’s distributor Lionsgate for Another Simple Favor, and this sequel may follow a similar narrative path as its predecessor, but remains enjoyable for its runtime for all the reasons the original holds up today, namely its two stellar lead actresses.
In Another Simple Favor, Stephanie Smothers (Kendrick) now makes a living as a true crime author after publishing her novel The Faceless Blonde based on her experiences five years earlier from the previous film, and has morphed her mommy vlog into a regular crime-solving show on social media while also parenting her pre-teen son Miles (Joshua Satine). All is well until Emily Nelson (Blake Lively) waltzes back into her life at one of her book signings fresh out of a five-year prison sentence to personally ask her to be the maid of honor at her destination wedding in Capri to mysterious hunk Dante Versano (Michele Morrone). Stephanie is immediately suspicious of Emily’s intentions behind this invitation fearing she’s out for vengeance, but the blonde sociopath threatens legal action upon refusal.
So it’s off to Capri for Stephanie, this time with her assistant Vicky (Alex Newell) in tow. Upon landing on the beautiful Italian island, Stephanie runs into a few familiar faces, particularly Emily’s bitter ex-husband Sean Townsend (Henry Golding) and their son Nicky (Ian Ho), as well as Emily’s mother Margaret McLinden (Elizabeth Perkins, replacing Jean Smart), accompanied by her sister and Emily’s aunt Linda (Allison Janney). But it’s the new faces like Dante’s mother Portia (Elena Sofia Ricci) and rival Matteo Bartolo (Lorenzo de Moor) that cause tensions to rise at the rehearsal dinner, and then when one of the wedding guests is murdered in the shower later that night, it’s up to Stephanie to solve the mystery of what Emily’s intentions are for her and with this marriage, as well as who’s behind this imminent killing spree.
Like the first Simple Favor, Another Simple Favor is driven by the strength of its two main stars. Anna Kendrick’s infectious energy and sharp comedic timing engage audiences for every minute Stephanie is on-screen, while Blake Lively is great at giving audiences room to speculate Emily’s intentions through her line delivery in a given scene. One such example comes during an intimate conversation between herself and Stephanie where the blonde bride-to-be promises she won’t throw her friend off the cliff on which they’re talking with naturalist nonchalance to the point where her promise is darkly unnerving.
Feig’s experience in comedy and Sharzer’s script also make Another Simple Favor an often humorous sequel, with one example being a situational instance where Stephanie is up to her sleuthing only to have a spontaneous conversation with Linda, which evolves from forced kind greetings to repetitive pleasantries in hopes of reducing the awkwardness of the author’s predicament to failed effect. Henry Golding also has a handful of hysterical one-liners while in a drunken stupor that rip Stephanie a new one for the intricate details of her sex life and further emphasize his lack of desire to be present for his ex-wife’s wedding.
The costumes and production design also lend their hand toward the comedy of Another Simple Favor, particularly when they emphasize Emily’s mysteriousness and emotional instability, such as when she struts down the hotel stairs wearing a sunhat with a brim so huge, it’s a wonder Stephanie didn’t see her run into any walls while on the spying trail. The production design is also elaborate to the point of appearing near-nauseating by design, from way too much decorative flora at a fancy dinner to a wealth of candles surrounding the pool during Emily’s bachelorette party. Something is off with this vacation because everything is too beautiful.
Another Simple Favor is funny, engaging and gorgeous to look at, but problems arise with the mystery that takes too long to set up all its interestingly gonzo pieces up on the proverbial board. Once it does, the path toward its solution is laid out in a manner too similar to the original film, not only down to the amount of bizarre twists and turns, but also entire revelations that should feel bigger but come off as disappointingly tired and tedious.
It’s also worth noting that some inside verbal jabs making reference to events from the prior comedy-thriller are ran into the ground early on, and the fish out of water scenario in which Stephanie found herself as an oblivious housewife that made the antecedent story so compelling is sadly absent from this sequel, no matter how many times Feig wants us to believe it is when Stephanie steps onto Emily’s private runway with one tennis shoe first, contrasting the elegance of the thriller genre’s standard femme fatale.
But even if the story is close to a rehash of the previous film, the film does tease a new, especially bonkers direction down which this series could go upon this sequel’s conclusion, Capri provides many landscapes for audiences to gawk at in awe of their natural decadence, and Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick’s unique chemistry keeps Another Simple Favor fun for a night of streaming as long as it’s paired with the far-superior mystery that preceded it. But if those who greenlit this sequel do see franchise potential with Darcey Bell’s cast of characters, they need to do themselves a personal favor and craft fresher and more creative material once asked to continue Stephanie and Emily’s saga.