Courtney Howard // Film Critic
Rated R, 2 hours
Directed by: Paul Feig
Starring: Blake Lively, Anna Kendrick, Alex Newell, Michele Morrone, Elena Sofia Ricci, Henry Golding, Lorenzo de Moor, Allison Janney, Elizabeth Perkins, Taylor Ortega, Joshua Satine, Ian Ho, Mitch Salm
After director Paul Feig transformed the tawdry beach read A SIMPLE FAVOR into a Hitchcockian dreamscape, the auteur returns with a very different tone in mind for its sequel, ANOTHER SIMPLE FAVOR. The feminine-charged material, penned by Laeta Kalogridis and returning screenwriter Jessica Sharzer, surprisingly revels in its mean-spirited overtones, pitting women against each other and gifting its leads with exposition dumps disguised as acid-tongued bickering. It’s sun-tanned hagsploitation at its most inept. With the exception of the luxurious designer wardrobe and lavish Italian isle setting, to call these proceedings frustrating, dispiriting and disappointing feels like an understatement.
When we first reunite with amateur sleuth/ lifestyle vlogger Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick), she’s at a low point, suffering from PTSD and guilt surrounding the recent suicide of a high school swim coach (Mitch Salm) she was investigating. Her son Miles (Joshua Satine) is off to camp for the Summer, abandoning her in her grief. However, Steph can’t surrender to sadness as her mystery novel centered on the salacious events of the first film is just about to hit shelves and her pushy agent (Alex Newell) is desperate for Steph to reactivate her social channels for the book’s success. What a better time for femme fatale/ convict Emily Nelson (Blake Lively) to breezily appear, “fresh out the slammer” (as Lively’s real life bestie Taylor Swift would say).
Turns out, Emily is getting remarried in Capri and wants Stephanie to be her maid of honor. Stephanie, of course, reluctantly agrees. As the preparations for the wedding ceremony commence, a cavalcade of colorful characters is introduced – like Emily’s fiancé with mafia ties Dante Versano (Michele Morrone), his prickly mother Portia (Elena Sofia Ricci) and the family’s adversary Matteo Bartolo (Lorenzo de Moor) – and re-introduced – like Emily’s rebellious, mop-topped son Nicky (Ian Ho) and bitter, drunk ex Sean (Henry Golding, now completely miscast). We also are treated to meeting the bride’s perpetually Pucci’d aunt Linda (Allison Janney) and wig-sporting, medicated mom Margaret (Elizabeth Perkins). But when Sean turns up dead and, soon thereafter, Dante is murdered at the wedding reception, all eyes turn to Stephanie, not because she’s the sole witness and a true crime junkie, but because the authorities bafflingly label her suspect numero uno.
That’s really the moment where everything narratively goes pear-shaped, beyond starting the film in media res with Stephanie in her hotel room under house arrest, chatting with her subscribers. An entire windfall of contrivances and conveniences transpires from here on out. It defies all logic and comprehension that she’d be fingered as the killer (even in a post-Amanda Knox trial world) – and not just because we know for certain she didn’t do it. There’s an entire series of standard protocols not even broached by the Italian police which would’ve ruled her out instantly. And given the severity of the crimes, letting Steph stay in her beautiful blue and white boudoir instead of throwing her in a jail cell is absolutely ludicrous. Naturally, this allows her to escape – during a belabored gag involving a housekeeper’s cleaning cart – and alleged hijinks and hilarity to ensue.
Those shenanigans include Stephanie coming into contact with dimwitted FBI agent Irene Walker (Taylor Ortega) and Portia dosing Stephanie with truth serum, which at least allows Kendrick’s comedic skillset to briefly shine. Similar to the original, there’s a heavy dose of sudsy camp involving another mysterious family member from Emily’s past breezing in to cause chaos. Yet thefilmmakers misjudge how to handle this element, playing it primarily for a callback joke. None of this is particularly funny and, in fact, the picture’s depiction of mental illness and ill-advised quips regarding incest are wildly troubling. The sequel forgets to factor in consent being a major differentiation.
Where the narrative falters after the first act, costume and production design pick up the slack, entertaining the eyes and dazzling our senses. As was the case with the original, costume designer Renée Ehrlich Kalfus deserves third billing. Her fashions complement the character-driven mayhem, from Emily’s masculine suits stateside to her embrace of Italian culture in a Dolce & Gabbana black widow lace dress and veil, as well as that dramatic floppy black and white hat. Jewelry becomes Emily’s armor as seen in her white satin and pearl bolero tuxedo when stepping off her fiancé’s private jet and the halter top made of diamond-and-rose-gold roses sported during the rehearsal dinner. The crystal blue ocean and rocky shorelines give the picture its texture and flavor, sweeping us away on a mental vacation.
For as chic, compelling and clean-lined as the 2018 adaptation was, its follow-up is vapid, nasty and sloppy, adding too many subplots to jazz up its primary plot and forgetting the essence of its protagonist and antagonist’s push-pull relationship. If only Stephanie could see that the true crime taking place is the disservice done to both her and her bestie.
Grade: D+
ANOTHER SIMPLE FAVOR is now streaming on Prime Video.
