Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively’s Another Simple Favour is all about froth, vibes and style

The two Simple Favour movies are about a vibe. Sure, it has some characters and a story, but those crucial elements are secondary to the mood.

You’re not meant to think too hard about the plot of this comedic murder caper. Technically, its many ludicrous twists and turns track, but it barely bears interrogating because it’s all too unfathomable.

But the outlandishness is the point. There may not be anything supernatural or sci-fi about them, but these movies live outside of our reality. No one actually behaves this way – and they certainly would never be rewarded for it.

Perhaps it’s fitting then that Anna Kendrick’s character, the perfectly named Stephanie Smothers, is now something of a social media sensation. Only in the very heightened online world could a delulu persona like hers thrive.

Let’s back up a second. Another Simple Favour, out on streaming now, is the sequel to the 2018 cinema release A Simple Favour. In the original film, Stephanie is a keen-beans, crafting mum who meets the impossibly glamorous Emily (Blake Lively) through their kids.

Stephanie has some secrets of her own, like how she came to be a widow, but she’s really all about the sleuthing when Emily disappears one day after asking Stephanie for a favour.

To keep track of what happened next required one of those intense Homeland wall collages with the red thread, but the nutshell is Emily faked her own death by killing her secret drug addict identical triplet and was sent to prison at the end of the film. Stephanie’s crafting vlog (ha, remember “vlogs”?) covered the whole crazy story and now she’s a superstar!

Years down the line, in Another Simple Favour, Stephanie is surprised to see Emily saunter in to the launch of her book about her experiences with the no-longer-convict.

Decked out in another one of her too-chic ensembles, Emily blackmails Stephanie into attending her upcoming wedding in Capri, private jet and all. Why would Emily want Stephanie, her former friend-and-nemesis to be her maid-of-honour? It’s complicated – and it is exactly that.

The plotline is every bit as shambolic as its predecessor, involving some familiar faces that also include Emily’s now ex-husband, the embittered and perpetually drunk Sean (Henry Golding) and her awful mother Margaret (Elizabeth Perkins, replacing Jean Smart), and some new ones such as Emily’s intended groom and definitely mafioso, Dante (Michele Morrone), her wily future mother-in-law Portia (Elena Sofia Ricci), and her wildcard aunt, Linda (Allison Janney).

There’s also the mysterious woman (Taylor Ortega) who seems to be following Stephanie, and Stephanie’s book agent, Vicky (Alex Newell), neither of whom serve any real purpose.

Let’s get back to the vibe, because that is the point with Another Simple Favour. It’s unapologetically style over substance, a two-hour, arch-glam piece filled with sunny skies, beautiful people and soap opera-level melodrama.

Emily remains a cipher, defined more by her elaborate costumes (it’s Emily in Capri) and Mona Lisa-esque expressions than any actual, you know, characterisation, until one revelation very late in the film which hasn’t been supported by anything in the preceding four hours of both chapters.

From the drone shots of the stunning Capri coastline to Stephanie wandering through the tourist-filled, colourful town centre of the Italian hotspot, the movie is often a tourism ad. Think of all the content you could capture for the gram!

Another Simple Favour is directed by Paul Feig (Spy, Freaks and Geeks and Bridesmaids), who has a way with comedic timing and he infuses the movie with a frothy energy that can be infectious.

You just have to switch your brain off and accept it for what it is. If you think about it too hard, you’ll realise that Another Simple Favour is hollow, a quick infusion of deranged aspirational “content” that leaves you feeling empty.

It’s a movie made for the Instagram set. But it could be worse, at least it’s not made for TikTokers.

Rating: 2.5/5

Another Simple Favour is streaming on Prime Video