Almost seven years after the debut of the crime comedy “Simple Favor” , “Another Simple Favor” premiered on Friday at South by Southwest and was an outrageous luxury, but now only against a sunny Italian background. True to the series’ melodrama aesthetic, the film didn’t take it that seriously, providing a bit more comedy to the story than its lead character development.
“Another Simple Favor” reintroduces the audience to Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) as the struggling but famous mom crime vocalist who has published her first book. In the first few scenes, Stephanie is surprised that Emily was released from prison early by her new mystical Italian fiancée. Emily manipulates Stephanie to be her maid of honor and forces her to go to Italy for an incredibly tense wedding.
The sequel offers many ridiculous and unexpected twists like its predecessor. But the ridiculousness of the characters makes it difficult to continue to engage in the story when attempting more serious moments. For example, there is a moment when the storyline shines a spotlight on Emily and Stephanie’s sons and their trauma due to their mother’s madness. These reasonable details are not explored very deeply into the storyline, so they are more filler time rather than adding to more stories.
Beyond that, this film is pretty entertaining – for what the actors are saying, and for how they are presented while saying it. Kendrick, for example, as Stephanie, offers a well-done comedic intro to the airport scene, further downplaying the severity of her situation with Leslie Gore’s ultra-dramatic “You don’t own me” as she arrives in slow motion and walks around with a neck pillow in loungewear.
Because Emily’s character is hilarious in the entire film due to her outfit, but in her case she is unfairly extravagant and dramatic. For example, when the audience first lets her out of prison, she plunges into a bookstore with red bottom heels. This is a set of designer prison jumpsuits and grey stripes that resemble silver chain jewelry, suggesting shackle. Her outfit only gets even more weird from there, and it’s a fun detail to watch in each scene she’s in.
Beyond this, Paul Feig (“Bridesmaids”) further proves himself as a talented director of his gorgeous camera shots through the film’s overall and overall skilled comedy timing. The comedy dialogue throughout the film flows naturally, with Feig allowing the camera to slowly shoot each goofy outfit the cast has, allowing the audience to hear it all soaking it up and being amused.
Overall, “another simple favor” is almost another “another simple favor.” It respects and adds to the luxury of the first film while remaining entertaining. There’s not much development from the characters, but fans of the original and soap operas don’t bother me and keep entertained.
3½ Secret Twins out of 5
