'A Simple Favor' delivers wicked fun
‘A Simple Favor’ is a twisty, hilarious surprise
Some of the marketing for “A Simple Favor” paints the movie as a “Gone Girl”-like domestic thriller. While the film delivers a similar ratio of sex, lies and murder, it does so with a deliciously twisted sense of humor.
Anna Kendrick, perfectly cast, plays a widowed young mom named Stephanie who spends her time volunteering at school too much while also producing a rosy video blog about baking, kid crafts and idyllic suburban living. Her abrasive “super-parenting” contrasts with the work-focused, stiff-drink-wielding mom Emily, played by Blake Lively (also perfectly cast).
When Emily goes missing, Stephanie tries her hand at some amateur sleuthing while also helping Emily’s distraught husband (Henry Golding of “Crazy Rich Asians”) around the house. Things get, um, complicated from there.
The director of “A Simple Favor” is Paul Feig, which should be a clue to how the movie balances its insane tone. Feig is primarily known for directing comedies, including “Bridesmaids,” and that comedic sensibility serves a polished and witty script by Jessica Sharzer, which is based on a novel by Darcey Bell.
Some of the funniest moments in “A Simple Favor” are subtle performance choices by Kendrick and Lively, while others stem from the screenplay seemingly commenting on the ridiculousness of its own twists. Even still, the movie never veers too far into parody, providing enough intrigue to satisfy viewers who may not connect with the humor.
Kendrick and Lively, two talented performers who are often unfairly typecast, spark in their scenes together. It would be great to see these two paired again for a sequel, or better yet, something completely different. Somebody, please, just start providing them with more movies as fun as “A Simple Favor.”
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Plot holes and studio tinkering pummels ‘The Predator’
Shane Black sure seems like the right director for the banter-fueled, R-rated monster mash, “The Predator,” the fourth installment in the action franchise (not counting those two awful “Alien vs. Predator” crossovers). His pedigree as the go-to ’80s action movie screenwriter, as well as his more polished recent efforts (“The Nice Guys”) suggest an almost perfect alignment of director and subject matter.
So why is “The Predator” such a disaster?
For one, the movie isn’t close to being cohesive. After a number of reported scrapped subplots and an entirely reshot third act, “The Predator” is stitched together so haphazardly, there are key character beats, big story moments and even a major death that happen so quickly, you might literally miss them if you blink.
The gist of the movie boils down to Predator vs. Military, then Predator vs. Super Predator, then Military vs. Super Predator. Sounds simple, but Black connects the pieces in overcomplicated ways. Boyd Holbrook plays a sniper who witnesses the titular alien murder his entire unit, so the Secret Evil Military ships him out with a bunch of military headcases (they call themselves “The Looneys”), but not before Boyd mails a predator helmet to his estranged young son (Jacob Tremblay). Predator wants his helmet back, and Super Predator wants Predator. Then gore.
Olivia Munn plays a scientist betrayed by the Secret Military, which is led by Sterling K. Brown in a delicious villain role. Really, the entire cast is overqualified. Munn, Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes,Thomas Jane and Keegan-Michael Key all try hard to make the rambling, outdated screenplay work, but Brown is the only one with a character that actually pops. But just to be clear, his character also makes no logical sense at any point.
Black and co-writer Fred Dekker shove a bunch of broad stereotypes about mental illness into the movie too, the worst of which focuses on Tremblay’s character. The boy has what the movie basically deems “Magical Asperger’s,” and it’s exactly as insensitive as it sounds.
The reshot third act is darkly filmed, poorly edited and devoid of suspense, which sours whatever goodwill earned by the cast beforehand. Then “The Predator” has the added nerve to toss in a ridiculous, sequel-baiting stinger scene that feels like it was filmed last Tuesday.
Black and the studio further fumbled “The Predator” by casting a convicted sex offender in a scene with Munn, who didn’t know about the actor’s criminal history at the time. The scene was cut, but both Black and the studio botched the fallout. Oh, how 2018 of “The Predator.” Just go away, disappointing movie.
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Tyler Wilson can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com