Blake Lively has graced our screens time and again in many of our childhood favourites, from the adventurous Bridget Vreeland in Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, to the glamorous Serena van der Woodsen in Gossip Girl. Now, she’s come back as the enigmatic, twisted lead of the motion picture adaptation of the book written by author Darcey Bell of the same name, A Simple Favor. Although a favour is never quite that simple…
I initially saw the movie last week expecting one thing, but what I saw was something else. It was really great to see such an iconic duo through Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively and they work together so well on screen! Despite their different acting backgrounds and previous works, the stars both managed to show off their wide-range of skills in what is sure to be a hit at the box office.
Without giving too much away about what was such a great, plot-twist filled, dark, hilarious movie with two amazing female leads, I’ll just say this — you have to go see this movie. It tackles subjects of odd friendships, family betrayals, fake identities and money fraud.
Emily, the sophisticated and mysterious matriarch of the Nelson family and PR director of a fancy, upscale fashion label, befriends single mother Stephanie Smothers after their kids meet at school. Stephanie runs a mom-vlog where she shares crafts and recipes with her fellow online moms, where she then shares Emily’s disappearance with them.
Before Emily seemingly vanishes off the face of the planet, she leaves Stephanie with one simple favour, one that changes her life forever. So, Stephanie embarks on what she thinks is a search and rescue mission, but, instead, she finds the messed up secrets that people try to bury. It’s too bad she didn’t have a Gossip Girl on her side, because Blake Lively strays far, far away from the Upper East Side in this flick.
The story takes many, many dark turns as Stephanie, Sean (Emily’s husband, played by Henry Golding of Crazy Rich Asians fame) and the local police department team up to find the truth about what happened to Emily. When Stephanie figures out what’s really happening with Emily and where she is, things get really weird really quickly.
If all of that was not enough to convince you to watch this amazing movie with its incredibly talented cast and hilarious quips, then perhaps the iconic fashion might just do the trick.
Throughout the movie, the ever-so-classy Emily sports a range of tailored, dapper suits that gave me major fashion envy. Blake Lively herself must have enjoyed them too, as she has been spotted wearing similar suits on red carpets and press days for the movie. It might just be for press, but I’m hooked — and you will be too once you watch this movie.