A Simple Favor

There is a specific brand of suburban terror that only involves a playdate and a very expensive bottle of gin. Long before "cottagecore" was a hashtag and while "mommy vloggers" were still peaking in their cultural dominance, Paul Feig decided to take the dour, self-serious "missing woman" trope and give it a sharp, neon-pink makeover. I watched A Simple Favor on a Tuesday night while my cat, Barnaby, was aggressively trying to eat a crinkly piece of mail in the corner, and even that distraction couldn't pull me away from the sheer, chaotic energy of Blake Lively in a three-piece suit.

Released in 2018, the film arrived at a time when we were all a bit exhausted by the "unreliable female narrator" trend. Gone Girl had already set the bar, and a dozen imitators had tried to jump it and tripped on their own shoelaces. But Feig—the man who gave us Bridesmaids and Spy—realized that the only way to make a thriller feel fresh in the age of Instagram filters was to make it a glorious, high-fashion camp-fest.

The Martini-Soaked Mommy Vlog

The story follows Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick), a widow and over-achieving "parent-tastic" vlogger who makes the mistake of befriending Emily Nelson (Blake Lively), a PR executive who radiates "I will ruin your life and you'll thank me for it." Stephanie is the human equivalent of a papercut you don't notice until it starts stinging; she's all bake sales and yellow raincoats. Emily, meanwhile, is a walking Pinterest board for people who want to disappear into the woods with a suitcase full of cash.

When Emily asks for the titular "simple favor"—picking up her son from school—and then vanishes into thin air, the movie shifts gears. It could have been a procedural. It could have been a tragedy. Instead, it becomes a twisty, increasingly absurd mystery where Stephanie realizes that her "best friend" might actually be a ghost, a criminal, or just a really committed ghostwriter of her own life. Anna Kendrick is perfect here, leaning into the cringe-inducing earnestness of her character before slowly revealing a darker, more opportunistic streak.

Suits, Secrets, and Suburbia

What keeps me coming back to this film—and why it has garnered such a passionate cult following—is the aesthetic. In an era of muddy CGI and gray-toned cinematography, A Simple Favor is a feast. The costumes are essentially a supporting character. Apparently, Blake Lively worked closely with costume designer Renee Ehrlich Kalfus to create Emily’s look, which was heavily inspired by Paul Feig’s own dapper, suit-heavy wardrobe. That iconic Ralph Lauren tuxedo she wears? It’s a statement of power that makes the suburban setting look like a dollhouse she’s about to kick over.

The soundtrack is equally essential. Instead of a brooding, Hans Zimmer-esque score, we get 1960s French pop (think Brigitte Bardot and France Gall). It gives the whole film a "Mod" flair that suggests we shouldn’t take the murders too seriously. This is a movie that understands that a well-placed "f-bomb" is more effective than a jump scare.

The chemistry between the leads is what sells the absurdity. Watching Henry Golding (who was having a massive 2018 between this and Crazy Rich Asians) play the bewildered husband caught between a perky vlogger and a terrifying fashion icon is a delight. He’s essentially the prize in a very high-stakes game of "who’s the bigger sociopath?"

Why the Cult of Emily Nelson Lives On

Despite being a modest box office success, the film's legacy has grown in the streaming era. It’s a "comfort watch" for people who like their thrillers with a side of sarcasm. It captures that specific 2010s anxiety about who we are online versus who we are behind closed doors, but it does so without being preachy.

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Blake Lively is actually sober in real life, which makes Emily’s legendary martini-making skills—and her insistence on the "correct" way to peel a lemon—hilarious bits of character acting. The vlog segments Stephanie films were mostly shot by Anna Kendrick herself using a phone to maintain that authentic, slightly-too-close-to-the-lens "mommy blogger" feel. Paul Feig has a cameo as the voice of the "Avis" car rental representative on the phone. The painting of Emily in the house was actually a modified photograph of Blake Lively that was digitally painted over to look like an original piece of high-end art. * There's a subtle running gag about the "Brother/Sister" relationship that pays off in a way that is genuinely more disturbing than any of the actual violence in the film.

The film thrives on its tonal shifts. One minute it’s a comedy about the politics of the school parking lot, the next it’s a noir about arson and insurance fraud. It shouldn't work. By all rights, this should be a tonal disaster. But because Feig trusts his audience to keep up with the jokes while the plot thickens, it ends up being one of the most rewatchable films of the last decade. It’s a movie that invites you to have a drink, sit back, and enjoy the beautiful, well-dressed wreckage.

Ultimately, A Simple Favor is the rare modern thriller that remembers to have fun. It doesn't want to be the next Chinatown; it wants to be the movie you put on with your friends while you gossip about people you haven't talked to since high school. It’s sharp, it’s stylish, and it’s a timely reminder that the most dangerous person in the room is usually the one offering you a homemade cookie. If you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favor—keep it simple and just press play.