Another fun murder mystery sequel.
If you recall the last time “Simple Favor,” the dotty mom Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick) exposes the missing mom Emily Nelson (Blake Lively) as a murderer on her vlog. And so, when I heard there would be a sequel “Another Simple Favor,” I was wondering how director Paul Feig was going to manage that. Once we see the trailers and watch the actual movie, which is now on Amazon Prime Video, we really see how he pulls it off.
There are various themes in this sequel, which makes up for some of the crapola I’ve dealt with in the sequel genre “Horrible Bosses 2” and the mobster genre in “Mafia Mamma.” And even though the first movie was based on Darcey Bell’s novel, I still think it almost follows in the tradition of Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out” movies where the comedy and mystery is completely balanced.
As the story continues, Stephanie now runs a vlog called “A Pinch of Murder,” and writes a book on Emily, which results in her son Miles (Joshua Satine) is embarrassed by it, and Emily herself returning. She wants her to be her maid of honor for her upcoming wedding in Capri, Italy, which makes everyone and myself perplex on how she’s able to make that leap after her crimes.
Emily is marrying Dante (Michele Morrone of “365 Days” fame), whose family is part of the mob, as there are no cell phone photos allowed at the event. Not on the not so private plane with the stewardess making awkward faces and not on the ground with guns. But that doesn’t stop Stephanie for trying to get content for her fans. And speaking of the mob, unlike Toni Collette’s character in “Mafia Mamma,” Stephanie has seen “The Godfather” and says: “It doesn’t work out for Diane Keaton.” You heard it right. She saw the movie, and didn’t read the summery on Wikipedia. I’m sorry, but I’m struggling about the idiocy of that movie.
Among the problems, Emily’s future mother-in-law Portia (Elena Sofia Ricci) invites her mother Margaret (Elizabeth Perkins replacing Jean Smart) and Aunt Linda (Allison Janney) to the wedding. Even her ex Sean (Henry Golding) and son Nicky (Ian Ho) are attending for comic relief. And Emily’s boy is more optimistic than Stephanie’s boy. And another murder takes place, which makes Emily a suspect again. But through a series of circumstances, which I won’t spoil or you, this also makes Stephanie as a suspect, too.
Feig’s last movie was “Jackpot,” which was so mean-spirited and aggravating that I’m still mad at the streamers for making it a hit. “Another Simple Favor” made me want to go visit Capri again. In fact, I love looking at my Italy scrapbook I’ve made in 2012. And while this sequel doesn’t top the original due to how campy it acts in the sequel genre (which “22 Jump Street” did a much more effective job exploring on) and the twists get confusing, it still keeps us going with the execution.
Kendrick and Lively continue to have a stylish chemistry, and in sequel form, they’re both able to have their characters developed. None of them rely on the same rules which peeved me off in “Horrible Bosses 2” or “Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard.” Instead, they thrive on whatever the screenplay by Jessica Sharzer and Laeta Kalogridis can throw at them.
“Another Simple Favor” is a whodunit sequel that goes great with an Italian dinner and a bottle of red wine. In fact, I’ve made a lasagna bolognese while watching this, and I had a fun time doing both.
Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
