Breaking free from the comedy genre that has defined his career, Paul Feig goes into thriller territory with A Simple Favor. Feig’s Gone Girl-esque adaptation of Darcey Bell’s 2017 novel still puts the focus on female characters, as all of his movies have, played by Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively, who he’s working with for the first time.
So unless she’s got a secret cameo we haven’t found out about, there’s no Melissa McCarthy anywhere. The film centers on two best friends, one a mommy blogger played by Kendrick, with Lively as the mysterious one who suddenly vanishes from their small town. Henry Golding, who is set to make a splash later this year in Crazy Rich Asians, plays Lively’s husband who gets in on the investigation.
The tone still feels a bit off as Feig tries to be thrilling while maintaining a dark streak of humor. But Feig hasn’t really had a total dud yet and I doubt he’ll start here. Here’s the synopsis:
A SIMPLE FAVOR, directed by Paul Feig, centers around Stephanie (Anna Kendrick), a mommy vlogger who seeks to uncover the truth behind her best friend Emily’s (Blake Lively) sudden disappearance from their small town. Stephanie is joined by Emily’s husband Sean (Henry Golding) in this stylish thriller filled with twists and betrayals, secrets and revelations, love and loyalty, murder and revenge.
A Simple Favor opens September 14th.
