A Simple Favor (2018)

A Simple Favor is the rare thriller that dresses like high fashion and moves like a page-turner, all while keeping a wicked sense of humor tucked in its pocket. Paul Feig trades broad comedy for glossy, Hitchcock-adjacent mischief, letting the movie purr with martinis, secrets, and suburban unease as Anna Kendrick’s chipper sincerity collides beautifully with Blake Lively’s magnetic, razor-edged cool. The fun is in the tone: it’s twisty without being exhausting, funny without deflating the suspense, and propelled by chemistry so good you’ll lean in just to watch these two share a scene. It is, however, an R-rated cocktail—salty language, sexual material, and darker edges included—so if you want a straight-laced mystery, this one’s a little too delighted with its own danger.

A Simple Favor is clearly aiming for a slick, trashy-fun cocktail of suburban satire, twisty mystery, and glossy thriller, and on that level it often works thanks to sharp styling and two leads who know exactly how to sell a raised eyebrow. The problem is the story keeps piling on revelations until it starts feeling less clever and more like it’s daring you to keep up, and the tone can wobble between genuinely tense and knowingly silly in a way that won’t click for everyone. If you want a grounded whodunit with tight logic and a clean landing, this may test your patience with its pacing and “just go with it” plotting. But if you’re happy to watch Kendrick and Lively play cat-and-mouse in a fashionable, darkly comedic soap opera, it’s an entertaining ride even when it gets ridiculous.