Another Simple Favor

''Another Simple Favor'' is a 2025 American black comedy mystery film directed by Paul Feig and written by Jessica Sharzer and Laeta Kalogridis. It is the sequel to '' A Simple Favor'' (2018). Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells, Bashir Salahuddin, Kelly McCormack, Joshua Satine, and Ian Ho reprise their roles from the first film, with Michele Morrone, Elena Sofia Ricci, Elizabeth Perkins (replacing Jean Smart), Alex Newell, and Allison Janney joining the cast.

The film premiered at the South by Southwest Festival on March 7, 2025, and was released on Amazon Prime Video on May 1. It received mixed reviews from critics.

Plot

Five years after the events of the first film, Stephanie Smothers is a famous true crime vlogger and amateur detective and has written a book about her friendship with Emily Nelson and her subsequent imprisonment. At a signing event, she is confronted by Emily, who has been released on appeal. She is marrying her old friend Dante Versano, a wealthy Italian man from a family with connections to organized crime. She invites Stephanie to be her maid of honor, goading her into agreement with the promise of increased book sales and the threat of a potential lawsuit.

After arriving in Capri along with Dante and Stephanie's agent Vicky, the two reunite with Emily's ex-husband Sean and son Nicky. Also at the wedding are Emily's mother Margaret and her aunt Linda, as well as Dante's mother Portia, who has a contentious relationship with Emily, accusing her of marrying into the family for money. At a lunch before the wedding, a bitter and intoxicated Sean has a heated confrontation with Dante. Later, Sean is murdered in his hotel room by an unknown assailant.

Stephanie attends Emily's "bachelorette party", where she turns out to be the only guest, and the two reconnect. When Stephanie returns to the hotel, she discovers Sean's death, which the local police write off as an "accident". Suspecting Emily's involvement, Stephanie follows her the next day but is distracted by an American tourist who reveals herself as Irene Walker, an FBI agent investigating Linda, and shows Stephanie a photo of Linda talking to a mysterious woman that Stephanie identifies as Emily from her tattoo. They are interrupted by Dante, who Stephanie later sees in a heated discussion with Matteo Bartolo, a member of the Versanos' rival family.

Emily and Dante are married. At the reception, Dante makes a show of burning the prenuptial agreement between him and Emily, declaring it as a gesture of peace between the Versanos and the Bartolos. Later that evening, Stephanie follows Dante as he leaves the reception, only to witness him being shot to death. Portia accuses Emily of murdering him, while Linda casts suspicion on Matteo, who vehemently denies it. With Emily's presence accounted for, and Stephanie the only witness to the murder, she is placed under house arrest while the death is investigated.

Stephanie meets with Emily, only to realize from her odd behavior that she is in fact Charity, the third of the set of triplets that included Emily and her late sister Faith. Charity stabs herself, framing Stephanie for the attack. Stephanie is freed from her captivity by Isabella, a housekeeper paid by Irene. Isabella lets her into Margaret's room; she reveals that Charity's stillbirth was faked by Linda, a con artist who raised her as her own. Stephanie leaves the hotel and meets Irene, but before she can be taken to a safehouse, Irene is fatally stabbed by Charity in disguise. Meanwhile, Linda discovers from Margaret that Stephanie spoke with her, and smothers her with a pillow. Stephanie is taken to meet with Portia Versano.

Portia injects Stephanie with sodium thiopental, believing that she and Emily conspired to kill Dante. After failing to get any clear answers from her, Portia orders her killed, but she is rescued by Emily. She explains that Linda attempted to blackmail her and Dante, threatening to reveal that their wedding was a marriage of convenience to hide that Dante and Matteo were lovers. After she refused, Emily was confronted by Charity, who killed both Sean and Dante due to her romantic obsession with Emily. Charity drugged her and married Dante in her place, with Emily only being freed after Charity forgot to drug her that day.

Charity, posing as Emily, uses Stephanie's phone to livestream, sending a coded threat to Emily and Stephanie that she will kill Nicky if Stephanie does not turn herself in. Stephanie and Emily confront Charity and Linda, who is holding Nicky at gunpoint. Linda plans to kill Stephanie and pin the murders on her, with Charity assuming Emily's life, money, and position within the Versano family. Stephanie points out that Emily will also have to die, which Charity rejects. In the ensuing commotion, Nicky flies a toy drone into Linda's face, allowing Charity to take her gun and shoot her, sending her over a cliff to her death.

Emily convinces her sister to take her place in prison, while also taking responsibility for all of the murders committed. Stephanie returns home, writing a second book about the murders in Capri and honoring Emily's wish that she gives Nicky a normal life. Emily, who has remained in hiding in Italy, is confronted by Portia. She reveals that she knew the marriage between Emily and Dante was a sham, and that Emily did not commit the murders. In return for welcoming Emily into the Versano family, she requests "a simple favor", handing her an envelope with unknown contents.

Cast

Production

Pre production

It was announced in May 2022 that Amazon MGM Studios and Lionsgate had greenlit a sequel to the 2018 film, with Paul Feig returning to direct, and Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively reprising their roles. The project would be again confirmed in March 2024, with Henry Golding and Andrew Rannells among the cast also reprising their roles from the first film, and Allison Janney among the new additions to the cast.

Filming

Principal photography began in late March 2024. It was previously set to begin in Fall 2023 in Capri and in the UNESCO World Heritage Site site of Villa Adriana, in Italy. Filming wrapped on May 26, 2024.

Release

''Another Simple Favor'' premiered at the South by Southwest Festival on March 7, 2025, and was released on Amazon Prime Video on May 1.

Reception

Critical response

Brian Tallerico of '' RogerEbert.com'' gave the film two and a half out of four stars and wrote, "Despite the change in subject from motherhood to the mafia, ''Another Simple Favor'' ends up largely the same as the first in terms of what works and what falters. Lively is once again fantastic, imbuing this character with a degree of captivating uncertainty that throws off the balance of the film when she's not on-screen, and the costumes are gorgeous, rising to the level of the stunning scenery." Matt Donato of ''TheWrap'' gave three out of five stars and wrote, "''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."

In a more mixed review, Jacob Oller of ''The A.V. Club'' gave the film a C+ grade and wrote, "Though the simplest pleasures of ''Favor'' remain—catty chemistry between Kendrick and Lively, loopy twists, bravura statement outfits—the heat powering the concept has cooled to the extent that, despite the increased body count, the sequel feels as perfunctory as its title. It's just ''Another'' one."

Accolades

Future

In an interview with ''People'', Feig expressed interest for a third film. Kalogridis said that she "would love to get to spend time with these characters and these actors again."

References

External links

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{{Paul Feig

2025 black comedy films
2025 thriller films
2020s American films
2020s buddy comedy films
2020s comedy mystery films
2020s comedy thriller films
2020s English-language films
2020s female buddy films
2020s mystery thriller films
Amazon MGM Studios films
Amazon Prime Video original films
American black comedy films
American buddy comedy films
American comedy mystery films
American comedy thriller films
American female buddy films
American murder mystery films
American mystery thriller films
American sequel films
Bron Studios films
English-language buddy comedy films
English-language comedy mystery films
English-language comedy thriller films
English-language mystery thriller films
Films about twin sisters
Films about weddings
Films based on American crime novels
Films based on American thriller novels
Films directed by Paul Feig
Films produced by Paul Feig
Films scored by Theodore Shapiro
Films set in Capri, Campania
Films shot in Campania
Films with screenplays by Laeta Kalogridis
Lionsgate films
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
Twins in American films