As of 2025, it is inevitable that any film, even self-contained narratives with a beginning middle, and end, will receive an out-of-left-field sequel many years after its original release. Sometimes we get gold like Rocky II, John Wick 2, or Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, where now we have a fun new franchise of films with exciting new adventures for our main character. However… fate can take a tragic turn and you’re watching Highlander II: The Quickening, The Crow: City of Angels, or My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, or what I would like to call the, “Wait there’s a sequel?” category. Now all of these films share the attribute of an “accidental” franchise, where it seems like some producer or hotshot executive said, “Why not make another one of these? That made money right?”
This brings us to Paul Feig’s latest film, Another Simple Favor, which could best be described as Amazon Prime’s response to Netflix’s commitment to making more Knives Out films. This is a sequel to the “popular” mystery comedy, A Simple Favor, which is…. A movie? Look I had personally never heard of this film before, and from what I can find, the film was mildly well-received and made just under $100 million at the box office in 2018. Reading online, the film seems to have had a resurgence on streaming becoming something of a cult thus, a sequel just had to be made!
Describing the plot of this film is difficult if you have not seen the first film, so it’s recommended that you check that film out before jumping straight into the sequel. That being said, if you’re a psycho who just demands to see Another Simple Favor, the film does take the time to catch you up to speed on the events of the last film, while also updating the audience on what’s going on with the rest of the returning cast. Years after their wild encounter, Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick) has retired from posting regularly on her blog for moms and private investigations (just roll with me here) as she begins to go on tour for her new true-crime book, which is about the events of the first film. On the first stop of her tour, her reading is interrupted by the sudden and dramatic return of Emily Nelson (Blake Lively) who has been released from prison on bail. Emily explains that she wishes to invite Stephanie as her maid of honor for her upcoming wedding in Capri to an uber-wealthy Italian “business” man, Dante Versano (Michele Morrone). What follows is a heated family drama, that unfolds into a full-blown murder mystery, with Stephanie in trapped in the middle.
In classic murder mystery fashion, but also unlike the last film, the film features a wide ensemble of characters with various motives, backstories, and personalities that Stephanie must navigate and investigate. There are some returning characters, like Emily’s ex-husband Sean (Henry Golding), Stephanie’s friend and fan Darren (Andrew Rannells), and the trustworthy, modestly charismatic detective Summerville (Bashir Salahuddin). Each of these 3 characters play minor roles but benefit from the sequel since they get to hit the ground running with new material and fun twists to their stories. The biggest winner here is Henry Golding, whose performance felt rigid in the last film. Here, Golding gets to cut loose and be a drunk cutthroat ex-husband who gets to throw shade around which I found enjoyable.
On the opposite side of the coin, we’ve got numerous new players like Stephanie’s agent Vicky (Alex Newell), Emily’s estranged Aunt Linda (Allison Janney), and an elusive stranger who keeps following Stephanie (Taylor Ortega). These 3 supporting characters are fun additions to the cast, with Newell’s Vicky nicely fitting into the role of comedic relief through reactions and commentary which started strong but slowly got a little old by the third act. Overall, the supporting cast is very serviceable, however, I’m lacking to say much more than that.
The main cast is a different story, as there are some obvious winners and some VERY obvious losers. Anna Kendrick, beloved actor and newly minted director, easily slips right back into her character’s adorable, bubbly mom persona who has become more of a witty badass P.I. since the events of the last film. The character of Stephanie feels like it was designed in a lab to be played by Kendrick, as she feels like an amalgamation of every character she’s ever played before. Thus, if you’re a fan of Kendrick, you should enjoy her performance. The same can not be said for her co-star, who is getting her own paragraph now.
Blake Lively has always been popular but has never felt like someone who actually sells tickets. Lively has been trying to change this with her recent surprise hit It Ends with Us, which has done less to make her a movie star, and more made Lively more associated with drama, the personal kind not the genre. All of this preamble to say that Lively is not known for having a ton of acting sauce, but can manage the spotlight, imitating the look of a movie star by being gorgeous and wearing some of the most extravagantly fashionable outfits. The character of Emily Nelson feels like it was designed in a lab to be played by Blake Lively, in that she’s a dominated, better-than-thou maverick who always gets her way and flirts with everyone. Now where Kendrick slips comfortably into her role and thrives, Lively sort of just bulldozes her way through scenes doing whatever she wants like a bull in a china shop. This is not to say Lively is terrible in the film, but she’s certainly doing what she wants which can sometimes be entertaining, but can also come off as trying way too hard. Lively performance also lacks depth, not that anyone is going too deep with their performance, but there are some creative character choices here that really fall flat. Not to spoil anything, but Lively makes a big reveal in this film and it’s… not great, and the performance is… equally not great.
The core of the film is centered around this tense relationship between Lively and Kendrick’s characters who are both best friends and mortal enemies. A classic Jean Grey vs Emma Frost dynamic for the X-Men heads out there, where Kendrick is the shy, girl next door and Lively is the loud and proud problem child. A Simple Favor nailed this, but Another Simple Favor refuses to do much more than remind us how compelling the relationship was in the previous installment. Much like Knives Out, Feig and company are not looking to evolve these characters’ relationships, instead, they wish to thrust these now-established dynamics into more elaborate and crazy situations.
Another Simple Favor is primarily shot on the beautiful Italian island of Capri, which was a real treat in terms of visual scenery. Sure the film felt like a vacation movie, a film where you can tell the crew and stars just wanted to be somewhere nice and happened to film something while they were there, but the cinematography helps enhance the setting and plot, validating the change of location. You can see that the creative team is going all out trying to showcase the natural beauty and history of the island. Additionally, Feig explained at a SXSW Q&A event for the film that he was trying to replicate an elaborate wedding that had happened on that same island, which honestly made for a pretty engaging and opulent environment to throw these characters into. Lastly, the big elegant wedding setting helps alleviate the minor issue of Lively having the most outrageous costumes for a suburban mom, since now she’s in a place where it makes sense to wear a hat the size of a medium-sized coffee table.
Feig’s first sequel attempt gets a passing grade and proves that you can, in theory, make a franchise out of it. While watching Another Simple Favor, I was reminded of John Wick 2, another unnecessary sequel film that defies the odds and establishes that this film series does in fact have more gas in the tank. Now, will I come back to Another Simple Favor, probably not. I did say the same thing about John Wick 2, only to come crawling back for John Wick 3. This might be the beginning of another low-stakes IP franchise for Amazon that I wouldn’t mind seeing every couple of years.
3/5 it’s not a must-see, but there’s potential here. I could see this being Amazon/Feig’s take on a Knives Out-style film series for Amazon Prime.
Another Simple Favor, directed by Paul Feig and produced by Amazon MGM Studios, is the sequel to the 2018 film A Simple Favor based on the original novel by Darcey Bell. Five years after the events of the first film, mom vlogger and private investigator Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick) is invited to be the maid of honor for the wedding of Emily Nelson (Blake Lively), the dangerous con artist and Stephanie’s former best friend, and Dante Versano (Michele Morrone), an elusive Italian billionaire, in Capri Italy. After being convinced by her agent Vicky (Alex Newell), Stephanie reluctantly joins Vicky in toe to unravel why exactly she was invited in the first place. Once she arrives, she quickly realizes there is a deeper plot at work, and Stephanie must now use her wits and connections to survive this dangerous destination wedding. Another Simple Favor also stars, Allison Janney, Andrew Rannells, Bashir Salahuddin, Taylor Ortega, Henry Golding, Ian Ho, and Elizabeth Perkins. The film will premiere exclusively on Amazon Prime on May 1st.
