Movie Monday: A Simple Favor

When our camping trip got rained out last week, we came back home and enjoyed two more days of "staycation." With heavy rain on Thursday, we decided to indulge in a morning matinee in our local recliner theater. We went to see A Simple Favor, which turned out to be a fun and twisty thriller with a great sense of humor.

Anna Kendrick plays Stephanie, a single mom who is perfectly put-together and has her own "mommy vlog." The other parents at school get a little annoyed by her perky super-volunteer persona, but one mom takes an interest in her: Emily, played by Blake Lively. Emily is just the opposite of Stephanie - a high-powered career woman who dresses in tailored menswear (sometimes sans shirt!), super-expensive shoes, and exudes a cool confidence. Since their sons are best friends, Emily and Stephanie start to hang out together, sharing potent martinis at Emily's gorgeous showplace home in the afternoons while the kids play and sharing secrets, too. One day, Emily asks Stephanie to pick her son up from school, since she is tied up at work and her husband is overseas. No problem...except that Emily doesn't come to pick her son up that night - or the next day - or the day after that. Finally, her husband Sean, played by Henry Golding, returns home and he and Stephanie decide to call the police, even though Sean says Emily has disappeared before. What follows is a twisty mystery filled with surprises, as the police, Sean, and Stephanie all try to find Emily and uncover her secrets.

This movie is a whole lot of fun! Although it is a thriller, with a bit of violence and plenty of darkness, it is also very, very funny, frequently making the audience laugh out loud, even sometimes at inappropriate moments. The cast is all excellent, especially Kendrick and Lively, who both play their roles beautifully and each undergo some changes during the story. I've already mentioned the film is full of surprises, but there are SO many twists in this movie! Every time you think you've got it figured it out, something unexpected happens to turn all your previous assumptions on their head. We really enjoyed this original, fun movie that should appeal to almost every viewer.

A Simple Favor is now playing at theaters near you - check local listings at the link:
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It is due for release on DVD and streaming in December 2018.

(NOTE: Another fun movie with a similar tone that combines thriller and humor is Game Night).