Though it marks director Paul Feig‘s first stab at a sequel, Another Simple Favor is something however one other easy try at cashing in on current IP.
The SXSW 2025 opening-night movie picks up 5 years after mommy blogger Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick) uncovered pal Emily Nelson’s (Blake Lively) crimes and had her despatched to jail, because the mysterious fashionista is sprung from the joint. Her first order of enterprise is inviting her frenemy to be her maid-of-honor in a Capri vacation spot wedding ceremony to Italian inheritor Dante Versano (Michele Morrone). However when somebody begins murdering the friends, Steph finds herself on the middle of one other thriller involving Emily.
Though followers of the unique could be questioning how Emily might probably persuade Stephanie to endure her bridezilla whims on an island hundreds of miles away, that’s rapidly answered in probably the most Emily manner potential. Not solely does she promise loads of buzz for Steph’s new ebook concerning the occasions of the primary movie, however Emily renews her menace to “slap an injunction” on her literary launch.
With Kendrick and Full of life slipping again into their comedic (and barely sapphic) chemistry, some returning faces additionally present a gradual stream of punchy one-liners together with Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells, Aparna Nancherla, Kelly McCormack and Bashir Salahuddin.
The sequel additionally offers some hilarious additions to the forged, together with Alex Newell as Stephanie’s shameless literary agent Vicky, Taylor Ortega as incompetent FBI agent Irene Walker, and Allison Janney as Emily’s shady Aunt Linda. And Elizabeth Perkins doesn’t maintain again on the bodily comedy whereas taking up the position of Emily’s estranged pill-popping mom Margaret McLinden, who was portrayed by Jean Good the primary time round.
Whereas some would possibly argue that Feig and writers Jessica Sharzer and Laeta Kalogridis are too reliant on apparent nods to the unique movie — bringing again acquainted plot gadgets just like the mommy vlog teaser opening and an act-three twist that felt just a little too recycled — the references finally add a playful camp wink to a enjoyable and thrilling movie that stands by itself.
In the meantime, the query stays: Can Emily redeem herself after the acts she dedicated within the first movie? The sequel solutions that query by ensuring she’s not probably the most unhinged individual within the room anymore, an enormous swing that finally pays off.
Not solely does One other Easy Favor present a satisfying arc for these addictive characters, nevertheless it would possibly even arrange followers for a trilogy. With just a few nods to a different iconic Italian trilogy, the phrase “a easy favor” might sometime eclipse “a proposal he couldn’t refuse” if Feig has something to say about it. But One other Easy Favor actually has a pleasant ring to it.
Title: One other Easy Favor
Competition: SXSW (Headliner)
Distributor: Amazon MGM Studios
Launch date: Could 1, 2025
Director: Paul Feig
Screenwriters: Jessica Sharzer, Laeta Kalogridis
Forged: Anna Kendrick, Blake Full of life, Andrew Rannells, Bashir Salahuddin, Elizabeth Perkins, Michele Morrone, Alex Newell, Henry Golding, Allison Janney
Operating time: 2 hrs
