Some thoughts on the movie “A simple favor” starring Blake Lively, Anna Kendrick, & Henry Golding.
Ten minutes into the movie, my very first thought was the child acting was annoyingly bad. The two child actors were so painful to watch. The casting director did such a poor job with these kids.
On the other hand, Blake Lively’s performance was outstanding in this movie though her character (Emily) disappeared for almost half of the 2 hour movie runtime. Her lines, outfits and appearances were the highlights of the movie.
Stephanie (played by Anna Kendrick) was supposed to bring thrills to the screen as a modern, twisted protagonist: a touted “saint” with a constant “beatific” smile belying her incestuous past. Anna Kendrick’s performance was good and hilarious at times, but her character development is not natural. Many of her scenes were irrelevant to the character portrayal and the storyline; e.g., rapping for a good 3 minutes in the car.
The first arc leading up to Emily’s disappearance was strong and engaging. Then the movie started to fizzle out and took a nosedive though a series of tonal shifts. I had watched the movie trailer and came in the theater expecting a serious thriller, so I was disappointed and confused: is it a thriller, a dark comedy or a parody, or a combination of all?
*Spoiler Alert* The scene where Emily’s belongings were put back into her closet got my heart racing – great thriller material! But in the end, the cliched car crash and the “mom” guy’s quip felt like they came straight out of a “Twilight” parody I’ve seen on HBO. 😂
The background music was not always relevant or contributing to the scenes. But I enjoyed the jazz and French soundtracks. 😀
“A simple favor” is good entertainment overall. 6.5/10.
Quynh Dang's World 