A Simple Favor

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2:16

A Simple Favor

R

2018

1h 57m

Mystery & Thriller

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

84%

Tomatometer

258 Reviews

72%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Stephanie is a widowed single mother who works as a vlogger in Connecticut. Her best friend, Emily, seems to have it all, a successful career, a loving family and a glamorous lifestyle. When Emily mysteriously disappears one day, Stephanie launches her own investigation by digging into her friend's past, finding a few surprises along the way.

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Critics Consensus

Twisty, twisted, and above all simply fun, A Simple Favor casts a stylish mommy noir spell strengthened by potent performances from Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively.

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Ben Sachs

Chicago Reader

03/04/2020

Imagine an ABC sitcom based on David Fincher's Gone Girl, and you'll get an idea of what this lightweight comic mystery is like.

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Matthew Norman

London Evening Standard

09/25/2018

3/5

It seeks only to entertain, and in its haphazard way it does.

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Jo Livingstone

The New Republic

09/24/2018

A deeply confused movie that feels like a mash-up of Mean Girls and an episode of Law and Order.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

May 29

3/5

…even though the conclusion is fairly silly by going way OTT in several directions, A Simple Favour digs deeply enough into the characters to keep audiences entertained... Kendrick expanded her range as an not-so-innocent and Lively lived up to her name.

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Brittany Patrice Witherspoon

Pop Culture Reviews

07/11/2024

3.5/5

A Simple Favor is a fun and fashionable thriller accompanied by killer performances from Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively.

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Noah Berlatsky

Everything is Horrible (Substack)

06/29/2024

Feig and his creative team weren’t willing to follow their leads to a weirder, more disturbing, and more satisfying film.

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Par H

@Parhwy 1d

A Simple Favour (2018) is a 112-minute-long American dramatic comedy my niece loaned me which I saw in May 2026. Either this film tricked me until the end or it’s a hot mess Let me explain. Until the last ten minutes, I thought I was watching a drama with comedic elements and thriller/suspense elements - varied tones working against each other and or placed awkwardly. The last ten minutes made me wonder whether I had just sat through a parody of… I don’t know what. My gut feeling says it’s a hot mess. I haven’t read any other reviews yet. Regardless, the number of flashbacks, the amount of time taken at the start to get to the point (30 minutes by my count), the amount of static talking scenes, the bloated run time… all that makes it a hot mess alone. I enjoyed the detective’s scripting and acting, and the interior of the mother’s house, and Blake’s outfits. Rewatch? No. Recommend? No. 4/10.

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Sharang L

@Scribe187 6d

It's Miss Kendrick's show all the way in this cheap paperback sort of thriller

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Dean B.

@MovieGeek08 Apr 23

I really liked this movie! Twisted and suspenseful!

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Thyaagu C

@Thyaagu Apr 20

Good plot with juicy twists and class satire to unpack, but the execution falls flat. The investigation feels messy, and the twist was of course predictable. Didn't build real emotional spark or tension!

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Lanfranco C

@Lanfrancobz Feb 5

A good dark and sarcastic plot.

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thiago s

@Thiagostone Jan 30

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

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Paul Feig

Director

Anna Kendrick

Stephanie Smothers

Blake Lively

Emily Nelson

Henry Golding

Sean Townsend

Ian Ho

Nicky Nelson

Joshua Satine

Miles Smothers

A Simple Favor: Official Clip - Violent Confessions

2:31

A Simple Favor: Official Clip - Emily Is Dead

1:44

A Simple Favor: Official Clip - Murder and Manipulation

1:42

A Simple Favor: Official Clip - Seducing a Widower

2:04

A Simple Favor: Official Clip - Drinks and Death

2:26

A Simple Favor: Official Clip - Mile High Club

1:44

A Simple Favor: Official Clip - It's All Good, Baby

2:34

A Simple Favor: Official Clip - Sleeping With My Brother

2:55

A Simple Favor: Official Clip - I Shot My Ex-Husband

3:00

A Simple Favor: Official Clip - Skinny Dipping Slaughter

1:47

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A Simple Favor: A Simple Favor - Best Scenes

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A Simple Favor: Trailer 1

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A Simple Favor: Teaser Trailer - Tell Me Your Secret

1:44

A Simple Favor: Teaser Trailer 1

1:18

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Synopsis

Stephanie is a widowed single mother who works as a vlogger in Connecticut. Her best friend, Emily, seems to have it all, a successful career, a loving family and a glamorous lifestyle. When Emily mysteriously disappears one day, Stephanie launches her own investigation by digging into her friend's past, finding a few surprises along the way.

Director: Paul Feig
Producer: Jessie Henderson
Screenwriter: Jessica Sharzer
Distributor: Lionsgate Films
Production Co: Feigco Entertainment, Lionsgate
Rating: R (Language Throughout|Drug Use|Sexual Content|Some Graphic Nude Images|Violence)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 14, 2018, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 11, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA): $53.5M
Runtime: 1h 57m