If you lose a spouse, when is it okay to start looking for a new partner, or even start dating? Factors like age, live experience, and even the dating pool has kept the debate alive for a long time, but the biggest question seems to be how long after they pass is acceptable.
“A Simple Favor” is the latest film directed by Paul Feig (Bridesmaids) and stars Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect), Blake Lively (Gossip Girl), Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians), Andrew Rannells (Girls), Ian Ho (Willa), Joshua Satine (Chicago Med), Rupert Friend (Hitman: Agent 47), and Andrew Moodie (Cypher). In it, a single mother and widow named Stephanie (Kendrick) runs a video blog for moms that deals with home tips. Her son Miles (Satine), has a friend at school named Nicky (Ho), and Stephanie strikes up a friendship with Nicky’s mom, Emily (Lively), who is married to a strange character named Henry (Golding). One day, Emily goes off the grid and later is found dead in another state while Stephanie and Henry start growing closer. Eerie clues start mysteriously appearing showing that maybe Emily is still alive, and the action goes from there.
The cast is solid here, with Kendrick and Golding delivering what I expected, but I also liked how Lively plays a rich lady who has an evil streak. When it comes to the plot and storyline, this is one of those stories that puts some jumps scars in to keep it moving in the vein of “Gone Girl” with a few variations. It is not the most innovative film I have ever seen, with many twists that I saw coming. The climax may get a tad confusing, and there were some questions that were not clearly answered for me, and putting all of this together, I will recommend “A Simple Favor” as watching it on Netflix or cable.