A Simple Favor

Blake Lively Director: Paul Feig Paul Feig

Overview

Lonely, cheerful mommy blogger Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) becomes obsessed with Emily (Blake Lively), the chic, mysterious new mother to the neighborhood. When Emily disappears, Stephanie pieces together clues left behind by her friend while also caring for Emily's son, Nicky, and unwisely getting involved with Emily's handsome yet suspicious husband Sean (Henry Golding). Directed by Paul Feig. Based on Darcey Bell's 2017 novel of the same name. ~ Kaitlin Elise Miller

Product Details

Release Date:	12/18/2018
UPC:	0031398295228
Original Release:	2018
Rating:	R
Source:	Lions Gate
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound]
Sales rank:	19,398

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Blake Lively	Emily
Anna Kendrick	Stephanie
Henry Golding	Sean Nelson
Ian Ho	Nicky Nelson
Joshua Satine	Miles Smothers
Jean Smart	Mrs. McLanden
Eric Johnson	Davis
Rupert Friend	Dennis Nylon
Glenda Braganza	Mrs. Kerry Glenda
Andrew Rannells	Darren
Kelly McCormack	Stacy
Aparna Nancherla	Sona
Jiah Mavjii	Sona's Daughter
Ava LaFramboise	Lulu
Dustin Milligan	Chris
Danielle Bourgon	Grace (Stephanie's Mom)
Gia Sandhu	Valerie
Lila Yee	Margaret (Sean's Mom)
Zach Smadu	Officer Blanco
Andrew Moodie	Sergeant Molloy
Sugenja Sri	Dennis Nylon Receptionist
Patti Harrison	Kiko
Jason Oliveira	Diego
Noorin Gulamgaus	Dennis Nylon Intern
Katharine Cullen	Dennis Nylon Assistant
Bashir Salahuddin	Detective Summerville
Howard Hoover	Priest
Ronnie Rowe	Police Officer #1
Melodie Johnson	Police Officer #2
Melissa O'Neil	Beth T.A.
Linda Cardellini	Diana Hyland
Paul Jurewicz	Bobby Chelkowsky
Sarah Baker	Maryanne Chelkowsky
Roger Dunn	Bruce Hargrave
Corinne Conley	Librarian
Olivia Sandoval	Ms. Prager
Nicole Peters	Hope (16 Years Old)
Lauren Peters	Faith (16 Years Old)
Umed Amin	Drugged Out Older Guy
Jamie Jones	Mr. McLanden
Lesley Donaldson	Bus Tourist
Tina Legris	Tattoo Artist
Chris Owens	Detective
Geoffrey Antoine	Warfield Police Officer
Rosanna Scotto	TV Reporter #1
Lorene Stokes	TV Reporter #2
Stacey Coke	Lawyer
Jung Yul Kim	SWAT Leader
Domenic Cina	Press #1
Julio Benitez	Press #2
Debra Kaiser	Press #3
Carmen Aralza	Press #4
Michael Park Ingram	Press #5
Glen Brough	Press #6

Technical Credits

Jessica Sharzer

Paul Feig	Director,Producer
Jason Cloth	Executive Producer
Robin Cook	Casting
Paul Cote	Sound Mixer
Mike Drake	Executive Producer
Furious FX	Animator
Brandt Gordon	Art Director
Ben Harris	Casting
Jessie Henderson	Producer
Myron Hoffert	Asst. Director
David Isern	Camera Operator
Allison Jones	Casting
Renee Ehrlich Kalfus	Costumes/Costume Designer
Paris Kasidokostas Latsis	Executive Producer
Michael J. Payne	Sound/Sound Designer
Regina Robb	Production Manager
Jefferson Sage	Production Designer
John Schwartzman	Cinematographer
Theodore Shapiro	Score Composer
Jessica Sharzer	Screenwriter
Erica Weis	Musical Direction/Supervision
Brent White	Editor

Editorial Reviews

Paul Feig has made a name for himself directing female-led smash comedies like Bridesmaids, The Heat, and Spy. In A Simple Favor, he turns his eye for storytelling towards the crime noir genre, resulting in a clever, twisted, and darkly comic tale that taps into the modern fascination with true crime. The '60s-style, Maurice Binder-inspired opening sequence with a groovy French soundtrack sets the stage for the classic caper to come. Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick) is a chipper widowed mommy blogger who meddles in the life of her first-grade son, Miles (Joshua Satine), and doesn't click with the deliciously catty other parents (Andrew Rannells, Kelly McCormack and Aparna Nancherla). When Miles befriends his classmate, Nicky (Ian Ho), she meets his mother, Emily (Blake Lively), a "beautiful ghost" in chic designer suits that make her seemingly float through life…while Stephanie struggles along wearing cheap, cheerful colors and cat socks from Target. The pair form a bond over the course of several afternoons sipping strong martinis. Emily's nonchalant attitude toward topics like sex, money, and death causes the attention-starved, buttoned-up Stephanie to reveal her own dark secret. When Emily suddenly goes missing, Stephanie realizes she didn't really know her "best friend" at all. She gets too involved with Emily's dreamy yet suspicious novelist husband, Sean (Henry Golding), and uses Emily's disappearance to gain followers on her vlog, revealing her own potential motives. Based on the novel by Darcey Bell, this soapy story's unlikely protagonist offers a fun twist on the noir formula. Anywhere else, Stephanie might be a hapless rom-com BFF or an annoying supporting character, much like clueless pawn Noelle (Casey Wilson) in the seminal Gone Girl. In A Simple Favor, Stephanie's awkward, overly apologetic suburbanite is a stand-in for the audience: a goofy "normal" person in the middle of a cinematic situation. At first, she provides humor and realism with her reactions, such as telling Emily that drinking martinis makes her feel like she's in a Bewitched rerun. As she goes to more extreme lengths to discover the truth, her naivete triumphantly evolves to cunning and cleverness. She begins putting Emily's advice into practice by becoming a powerful woman herself rather than simply chasing the approval of one. Feig's comedy expertise shines through in unexpected one-liners that happen just moments after shocking admissions or twists, making the far-fetched situations more palatable and keeping the film from veering into melodrama. Many of these are brilliantly delivered by a deadpan Lively, who is finally able to flex her comedy muscles while still looking fabulous. The movie drags as the twists mount in rapid succession and humor falls by the wayside, but the spot-on cast makes the successful genre-bending moments sing to create a cheeky, kitschy, modern thriller that plays with conventions.

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