“From the darker side of Paul Feig” says the new teaser for thriller A Simple Favor. Do we really want to see Feig’s dark side? His thing has always been light, female-led comedies like Bridesmaids, The Heat, and Spy. Now he’s turning his attention to a Fincher-esque mystery with stars Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively, and something about it just seems off.
The film stars Kendrick as a mommy vlogger who becomes obsessed with her glamorous and mysterious neighbor (Lively), who then suddenly goes missing. The investigation into her disappearance reveals dark secrets that nobody could have foreseen. Feig is clearly going for a Gone Girl/The Girl On the Train vibe, but I hope he’s not simply aping those movies and has something different to bring to the genre.
While Lively works because I think she has a certain enigmatic aura, something about Kendrick just isn’t quite working. That said, I tend to like her in movies she doesn’t make much sense in, like The Accountant. While she’s great in fun, offbeat comedies Kendrick is most enjoyable for me when she’s going against the grain.
A Simple Favor opens September 14th and co-stars Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells, Linda Cardellini, Jean Smart, and Rupert Friend.
