A Simple Favor, directed by Paul Feig, stars Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively. Taking full advantage of the recent popularity in adaptations of the “airport novel,” this movie is based off the 2017 book of the same name. Having never read or even heard of it, my only exposure came through the trailer. Stumbling upon it a few weeks back, it only confused me more. It didn’t help that the marketing campaign for this movie was almost nonexistent. Casting Anna Kendrick automatically makes me think comedy and Blake Lively isn’t someone I see as a hard-hitting dramatic actress. You also have Paul Feig whose previous work like Bridesmaids and Spy would have you think this is an outright farce. However, after watching the trailer, you may expect a traditional thriller. 

The only reason I had any grasp on the what the heck this movie was, was because of early reviews. Dark comedy is a phrase that kept coming up. I also saw a lot of comparisons to recent hits like Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train. Bringing up any sort of similarities to a movie that I love as much as Gone Girl sets an extremely high bar. While I saw it as an unfair comparison, it did get my butt in the seat. 

Unfortunately, A Simple Favor didn’t win me over and it’s yet another case when the positive buzz hurt my experience. On one hand, I probably would’ve never seen this movie if it wasn’t for the reviews. On the other hand, its also made me want much more than what I got. The trailer is actually a perfect encapsulation of how I felt about the film. It’s confused, muddled, and incoherent. 

Even though it’s the only thing that comes close to describing this movie, dark comedy is not what you get. I’ve honestly never seen a film quite like this and am having trouble drawing any good comparisons. It desperately needed something to grab onto and it avoided deciding whether it wanted to be comedic or serious. There’s always room for some laughs in drama and vice versa but it doesn’t work for A Simple Favor because it never establishes what it wants to be. One minute, it’s completely over the top, clearly trying to serve as parody to the traditional mystery-thriller. It then transitions to a slapstick comedy and later a crime drama. These unsteady tonal elements seem to be working for some. The unique tone that this movie has is undeniable. Unfortunately, I felt it culminated into something that was indecisive, lacking any clear identity. 

Not having read the novel, perhaps Paul Feig’s adaptation is as on point as it possibly could be. I’d be curious to see if the book goes back and forth as much as the movie does. I had no idea what it wanted to be going in and I still had no idea going out. One thing that can’t be argued is that it’s definitely different. 

Although it’s very flawed, I didn’t hate A Simple Favor at all. Again, it just confused me and I didn’t feel like the movie delivered on what the reviews seemed to promise. The opening credits, although a small detail, really stood out as highly stylized and reminiscent of past Hitchcockian thrillers. Paul Fieg lays out the plot clearly and with all the different elements going on, the story can still easily be followed. 

Now that he’s dipped his foot into something out of the ordinary, I’d like to see what Fieg could do with a more straightforward drama. A Simple Favor, feels like an experiment, that while unique, lacks an identity. It’s a flip-flopping bundle of comedy, intrigue, and suspense that seemed exciting on it’s surface but ultimately failed to grab my attention.