ANOTHER SIMPLE FAVOUR (AMAZON PRIME) (2025)

SYNOPSIS: Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick) and Emily Nelson (Blake Lively) reunite on the beautiful island of Capri, Italy, for Emily’s extravagant wedding to a rich Italian businessman. Along with the glamorous guests, expect murder and betrayal to RSVP for a wedding with more twists and turns than the road from the Marina Grande to the Capri town square.

MOVIE REVIEW:

With Another Simple Favor, Paul Feig seems to have lost his touch. It’s hard to believe this is the same director who gave us comedy gems like Bridesmaids, Spy, and The Heat.

The sequel to the 2018 dark comedy-mystery brings back Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively as Stephanie Smothers, an influencer-turned-writer, and Emily Nelson, the glamorous femme fatale with a shady past.

If you haven’t seen the first film (which I highly recommend), here’s a quick catch-up: Emily is now out of prison and planning to marry a handsome mafia boss, Dante Versano (Michele Morrone). Emily invites Stephanie to be her maid of honor at her lavish wedding on the island of Capri. The eclectic guest list includes Emily’s ex-husband Sean (Henry Golding) and their son, her sharp-tongued aunt Linda (Allison Janney), her frosty mother Margaret (Elizabeth Perkins), Dante’s protective mother Portia (Elena Sofia Ricci), and Matteo Bartolo (Lorenzo de Moor), the brooding son of a rival mob family.

Despite an ensemble cast, Another Simple Favor somehow feels bare and lifeless. The chemistry and banter between Kendrick and Lively arguably the best part of the original are still sweet but the two aren’t on screen together nearly enough. It takes almost an hour before anything remotely thrilling happens. Yes, there is a mysterious death but by then, you may have already checked out.

Where the first film thrived on a darkly comedic blend of incest, adultery, and murder, the sequel plays it safe and suffers for it. Jessica Sharzer returns as screenwriter, but her script lacks the sharpness and wit of the original. The dialogue is bloated with dull exchanges and Henry Golding’s Sean is unbearable, delivering a constant stream of crass jokes that fall flat save for one standout scene featuring Kendrick and an Italian housekeeper, which is genuinely funny.

Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively remain radiant and effortlessly charming, Capri itself almost takes a backseat to their screen presence. Kendrick brings an endearing spark to Stephanie, even when the story lets her down. And despite recent tabloid noise about Lively’s off-screen feuds with her co-star from It Ends With Us, she’s still magnetic on camera.

Sadly, Another Simple Favor lacks the bite and intrigue that made its predecessor a surprise hit. The mystery is paper-thin and the so-called twist ending is more tiresome than clever. It all culminates in a limp attempt to set up a third installment.

Please Paul Feig, do us a simple favor and let someone else take the reins.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee