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A Simple Favor

Play trailer 2:16 Poster for A Simple Favor R Released Sep 14, 2018 1h 57m Mystery & Thriller Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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84% Tomatometer 259 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 -- and finding a few surprises along the way.
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A Simple Favor

A Simple Favor

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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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Critics Reviews

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Ben Sachs Chicago Reader 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. Mar 4, 2020 Full Review Matthew Norman London Evening Standard It seeks only to entertain, and in its haphazard way it does. Rated: 3/5 Sep 25, 2018 Full Review Jo Livingstone The New Republic A deeply confused movie that feels like a mash-up of Mean Girls and an episode of Law and Order. Sep 24, 2018 Full Review Eddie Harrison film-authority.com …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. Rated: 3/5 May 29, 2025 Full Review Brittany Patrice Witherspoon Pop Culture Reviews A Simple Favor is a fun and fashionable thriller accompanied by killer performances from Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively. Rated: 3.5/5 Jul 11, 2024 Full Review Noah Berlatsky Everything is Horrible (Substack) Feig and his creative team weren’t willing to follow their leads to a weirder, more disturbing, and more satisfying film. Jun 29, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Andrea B A Simple Favor is a Gone Girl that takes itself less seriously and succeeds very well precisely because of this. Despite a "small" difference in the ending compared to the book, the movie remains faithful to the book on which it is based. Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively both give spectacular performances, especially Blake who (evidently) had a lot of fun playing her character. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 06/15/25 Full Review Jacob B A Simple Favour is not a comedy. The trailer was tonally deceptive but I'd argue that this is a thriller with more levity than usual compared to how self-serious films in a similar genre such as Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train are but having the main conflict taken seriously enough to avoid coming off as a spoof of the genre. Indeed, Paul Feig described in the BTS featurettes as a "fun thriller"...and I can't say I disagree. Maybe it borders on mood whiplash at times but A Simple Favour is a fun film with great performances from its leads, a few memorable side characters (or maybe I'm just biased because I like how Linda Cardellini looks here), a twisty story that has an enjoyably suspenseful climax and amusing comedic timing, even if it seems clear to me that Feig had to tone it down when compared to the pure comedies he makes with Melissa McCarthy. Not a perfect film but still a fairly enjoyable flick that by having a slightly-more-lighthearted-than-usual tone does something different from the angst-fests other missing-person thrillers can be. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/10/25 Full Review Hailey R A boring movie — I don’t understand the hype surrounding it. It was very forgettable, despite Anna being such a great actress. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 06/10/25 Full Review Eduardo C Es una de las películas más malas que eh tenido la infortunia de ver Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 06/09/25 Full Review john h A prime example of Kendrick's specific screen presence of a kind, quirky, intelligent puzzle solver. The jocularity of the jokes are as quick as eggs being broken aside a stove. This mystery always finds a way to twist the plot without any extreme cliches or familiar devices. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/06/25 Full Review Spencer P An old-fashioned domestic mystery given a dark, modern mommy edge, Anna Kendrick excels as a lovable, quirky protagonist, but Blake Lively plays a very unpleasant gaslighter through and through.  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 05/31/25 Full Review Read all reviews
A Simple Favor

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A Simple Favor

A Simple Favor: Official Clip - Violent Confessions A Simple Favor: Official Clip - Violent Confessions 2:31 A Simple Favor: Official Clip - Emily Is Dead A Simple Favor: Official Clip - Emily Is Dead 1:44 A Simple Favor: Official Clip - Murder and Manipulation A Simple Favor: Official Clip - Murder and Manipulation 1:42 A Simple Favor: Official Clip - Drinks and Death A Simple Favor: Official Clip - Drinks and Death 2:26 A Simple Favor: Official Clip - Seducing a Widower A Simple Favor: Official Clip - Seducing a Widower 2:04 A Simple Favor: Official Clip - It's All Good, Baby A Simple Favor: Official Clip - It's All Good, Baby 2:34 A Simple Favor: Official Clip - Mile High Club A Simple Favor: Official Clip - Mile High Club 1:44 A Simple Favor: Official Clip - Sleeping With My Brother A Simple Favor: Official Clip - Sleeping With My Brother 2:55 A Simple Favor: Official Clip - I Shot My Ex-Husband A Simple Favor: Official Clip - I Shot My Ex-Husband 3:00 A Simple Favor: Official Clip - Skinny Dipping Slaughter A Simple Favor: Official Clip - Skinny Dipping Slaughter 1:47 View more videos
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Movie Info

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 -- and finding a few surprises along the way.
Director
Paul Feig
Producer
Paul Feig, 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
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