A Simple Favor (2018)

Director: Paul Feig

Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Mystery

Runtime: 117 Minutes

Main Cast: Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells, Linda Cardellini, Eric Johnson, Sarah Baker, Ian Ho, Kelly McCormack, Glenda Braganza

Plot: Mommy vlogger Stephanie gets herself tangled up in a mystery when her newly found friend Emily goes missing one day.

My Thoughts: A Simple Favour is the movie I never knew I needed. When I heard Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively were teaming up I was absolutely giddy. I didn’t even know at that point what the movie was even about but it could have been the scariest horror of the century and I would have still seen it. When I found out it was a crime/mystery and also a comedy – I don’t even have the words. If you haven’t seen the marketing that Blake Lively did on her Instagram then you need to check it out!

It’s a shame that every single movie released after 2014 involving a missing woman will find itself compared to Gone Girl – it’s happening with this one and they are so very different! I won’t waste time trying to justify myself by listing the differences, just please take my word for it.

Let’s get back to the leading ladies. Anna Kendrick shines as this seemingly perfect Mum, you know the sort, she’s the Mum who brings in home-baked gluten-free cookies to the school bake sale. In my experience, she’s the Mum at your baby group who has a 3-month-old who sleeps through the night and never cries. Fellow Mums, don’t take notice of the Stephanie’s of the world, they’re bad for your health! Sorry, going off topic now…

Blake Lively steals the show, that’s all I can say. She. Is. Incredible. I’m confident in saying that she made every straight female in the audience question their sexuality – me included. Here I was thinking she was the lucky one when in fact It’s Ryan Reynolds!

Best Bit: Blake Lively’s wardrobe. That’s a shallow thing to pick for best bit I know but if you’ve seen the movie you’ll understand. If I wore a pinstripe suit I would look like a strange young man on his way to an interview – how does Blake do it?!

Worst Bit: Putting my serious hat on, the ending is the only thing that lets the movie down. It was hella fun but absolutely all over the place and there will be people who won’t forgive it.

Fun Trivia: The gin used in the martinis shared by Anna and Blake’s characters is Aviation (American) Gin, a company owned by Blake Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds.

My Rating: 4 and a half very strong martinis, which are socially acceptable to drink anytime after 5pm. Unless you’re a Mum, in which case you’re probably going to need one by 10am.