Stylistically very much of its time, Paul Feig's A Simple Favour is an easily palatable glossy thriller which it could be argued would be far better suited to a Netflix serialisation, than any sort of major cinematic release.
And considering the vast popularity of the aforementioned streaming platform, that's in no way as damning an indictment as once it might have been.
Anna Kendrick in particular is perfect for these sort of televisual films and roles. Wholesome, cutesy and borderline irritating in this instance, she portrays Stephanie Smothers, a young single mother whose path happens to cross that of the glamorous and rather ruthless, Emily. Their sons go to the same school, and through this everyday tenuous connection - and in spite of the girls' very disparate personalities - they strike up an unlikely friendship based largely around play dates and strong Martinis, and plenty of them.
But when things suddenly take a rather mysterious turn, Stephanie is left holding the baby (almost literally), desperately scrambling around to make sense of an increasingly disturbing scenario. More disturbing than anything this well-meaning lifestyle-blogging mother could possibly have imagined, in fact.
All 'made-for-TV' jibes-aside, A Simple Favour is actually, in it's own way, a perfectly watchable film, though one which one can feel reasonably assured will never spring anything too ghastly or distasteful upon its unsuspecting viewers.
Though based upon nefarious dark deeds and wrong-doings, Feig's film is far more concerned with its sassy style and slick delivery than developing any sort of deep-seated menace or suspenseful atmosphere. And the entire thing plays out with just the sort of slightly superficial style and vacuous air that you'd probably associate with Sex In The City and the like.
That said, given the film's deliberate stylistic approach it's hard to fault any of the performances, but it's left to Blake Lively - portraying the mysterious Emily - to produce the one performance of any particular weight or substance. This alone, however, is not enough to transform A Simple Favour from admittedly well devised Hollywood schtick into something altogether more memorable and affecting.
Not a bad offering, and as mentioned before, perfectly watchable. But if ever there was a film to keep one eye on in the background without ever needing to get too emotionally invested in its content, then this is probably it.
This and hundreds of other films are reviewed on my WaywardWolfBlog
And considering the vast popularity of the aforementioned streaming platform, that's in no way as damning an indictment as once it might have been.
Anna Kendrick in particular is perfect for these sort of televisual films and roles. Wholesome, cutesy and borderline irritating in this instance, she portrays Stephanie Smothers, a young single mother whose path happens to cross that of the glamorous and rather ruthless, Emily. Their sons go to the same school, and through this everyday tenuous connection - and in spite of the girls' very disparate personalities - they strike up an unlikely friendship based largely around play dates and strong Martinis, and plenty of them.
But when things suddenly take a rather mysterious turn, Stephanie is left holding the baby (almost literally), desperately scrambling around to make sense of an increasingly disturbing scenario. More disturbing than anything this well-meaning lifestyle-blogging mother could possibly have imagined, in fact.
All 'made-for-TV' jibes-aside, A Simple Favour is actually, in it's own way, a perfectly watchable film, though one which one can feel reasonably assured will never spring anything too ghastly or distasteful upon its unsuspecting viewers.
Though based upon nefarious dark deeds and wrong-doings, Feig's film is far more concerned with its sassy style and slick delivery than developing any sort of deep-seated menace or suspenseful atmosphere. And the entire thing plays out with just the sort of slightly superficial style and vacuous air that you'd probably associate with Sex In The City and the like.
That said, given the film's deliberate stylistic approach it's hard to fault any of the performances, but it's left to Blake Lively - portraying the mysterious Emily - to produce the one performance of any particular weight or substance. This alone, however, is not enough to transform A Simple Favour from admittedly well devised Hollywood schtick into something altogether more memorable and affecting.
Not a bad offering, and as mentioned before, perfectly watchable. But if ever there was a film to keep one eye on in the background without ever needing to get too emotionally invested in its content, then this is probably it.
This and hundreds of other films are reviewed on my WaywardWolfBlog