‘Another Simple Favor’ Review: Cartoonish, Over-the-Top Sequel Lacks the Lust and Vigor of Original

Paul Feig couldn’t avoid directing a sequel forever. “A Simple Favor” grossed nearly $100 million worldwide at the box office on a $20 million budget, paving the way for “Another Simple Favor.”

Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively return for more mysterious murders, but the “Glass Onion Effect” is on display for better and worse. “Another Simple Favor” isn’t as sharp or amusing a continuation, despite bolstering the ensemble and flying to an island off Italy’s Amalfi Coast. Lively and Kendrick bicker-banter without losing their chops, and wardrobe designs serve ferocious fashions, but the original film’s snarky strengths aren’t as addictive.

Writers Jessica Sharzer and Laeta Kalogridis waste no time catching audiences up to speed – within a few minutes, blunt besties are sassily posing threats. Stephanie Smothers (Kendrick) is touring her book “The Faceless Blonde” while Emily Nelson (Lively) is thought to be in jail but isn’t, thanks to an incompetent legal system.

Emily crashes Stephanie’s latest stop and demands another favor (using blackmail) — to be her maid of honor. Stephanie reluctantly and suspiciously attends Emily’s romantic wedding celebration in Capri, hoping Emily’s a changed woman, but it’s just like old times when a dead body is found.

Lively and Kendrick sync back into thorny rhythms without any warmup. When Emily struts into Stephanie’s private reading with gaudy spike-studded heels, she’s walking with runway attitude.

Chemistry immediately clicks as Emily badgers Stephanie into taking a private jet, attending her one-on-one bachelorette party, and witnessing the happiest day of her life that definitely isn’t a ruse for revenge. Kendrick splendidly keeps Stephanie in a suspended state of disbelief about everything while Lively upholds that apex predator twinkle in Emily’s eyes.

You can sense the actors adore Stephanie and Emily’s psychological warfare as zingers land with impressed acknowledgment. It’s the same recipe as “A Simple Flavor” — lemon twist and all — which is a welcome revival.

Unfortunately, “Another Simple Favor” isn’t as enrapturing a whodunit despite its idyllic Capri destination. Feig’s dedication to Italian indulgences, millionaire decadence, and fanciful visuals isn’t as biting a thriller.

Emily’s future hubby, Dante Versano (Michele Morrone), heightens stakes by bringing mafia unease into the picture — but that’s not the only red herring. Emily’s long-lost Aunt Linda McLanden (Allison Janney) draws attention while a bumbling FBI Agent Irene Walker (Taylor Ortega) keeps blowing her cover. Themes of sexual exploitation and cunning betrayals are present but stretch across an ensemble that loses focus.

“Another Simple Favor” doesn’t carry the same lust and vigor as its predecessor, staying more traditional in its mommy-vlogger noir vibes but less composed.
Where “A Simple Favor” felt more sinful and scandalous, “Another Simple Favor” presents as over-the-top and cartoonish.

That works for actors like Henry Golding, who plays ex-husband Sean Townsend as a “drunken malcontent of an ex” with emphasis. Left behind are newbies like Alex Newell’s Vicky, Stephanie’s extra-in-every-way assistant who accompanies her boss to Capri yet is hardly utilized — off drinking alone or ignoring Stephanie’s predicaments. I also wish there were a richer examination of Stephanie’s “A Pinch of Murder” hiatus after possibly causing an innocent man’s death, but that’s written away with a wink. John Schwartzman’s glitzy and glamorous cinematography is undeniably sumptuous, but what’s beneath rings more hollow.

Feig leans into Capri’s lore as added personality, working Emperor Tiberius’ Leap into dastardly plots, but the meat of what made “A Simple Favor” such a forbidden treat has lost some juice.

Although, “Another Simple Favor” is still an entertaining and mischievous romp. Kendrick steps further into the forefront as Stephanie wholesomely tries to escape anything from truth serum interrogations to hotel “house arrest.” Lively stuns in an array of costumes that again make Emily look like a stone cold killer (double meaning intended), complimenting her eat-you-alive attitude.

Feig not only plays the “Brotherfucker” hits, but lets Stephanie test her best Emily impression by trying her hand at dark humor. It’s a bogged-down sequel with struggles — highlighted by a two-hour duration — but the film’s bread and butter, Stephanie and Emily, remain a winning duo.

“Another Simple Favor” might not be Emily’s perfection, chilled-glass martini, but that’s fine. Like the everyday martinis Emily shakes in a jiffy, Feig’s sexy and silly criminal caper goes down just fine. During his pre-screening introduction at South by Southwest, he said the characters of Emily and Stephanie deserved another picture — and he’s right. Lively and Kendrick make the most of their characters’ unexpected reunion; other issues be damned.

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