Sequels to cult hits rarely walk the tightrope as elegantly as Another Simple Favor does. Emerging straight to streaming glory on Amazon Prime Video, the follow-up to 2018’s genre-blending A Simple Favor doesn’t just bring back the iconic trio of Blake Lively, Anna Kendrick, and Henry Golding—it gives them sharper scripts, more sinister secrets, and a sun-soaked Italian playground in Capri where nothing is as glamorous as it seems.
Femme Fatales and Forced Fun: The Complex Chemistry Driving the Sequel
At the heart of Another Simple Favor is the combustible dynamic between Emily Nelson (Lively) and Stephanie Smothers (Kendrick). The first film peeled back the layers on their twisted friendship through a lens of dark comedy and neo-noir flair. The sequel pushes that relationship further, reuniting the two former besties under wildly questionable circumstances—Emily’s wedding, where Stephanie is inexplicably her maid of honor.
Critics may call the plot convoluted (and it is), but the emotional and performative core remains unshaken. Lively once again embodies Emily with the hypnotic allure of a femme fatale straight out of a 1940s detective comic. Her delivery is always one step from seduction to threat, turning every line into a double-edged dagger. Kendrick matches her with Stephanie, who has evolved from momfluencer to true-crime star, and now into something more cunning and cynical. Their on-screen rapport is nothing short of electric—think Catwoman and Harley Quinn trading witticisms over martinis in the sun.
Costumes That Speak Louder Than Plot Twists: When Fashion Becomes a Character
Returning costume designer Renée Ehrlich Kalfus doesn’t just dress Emily—she armorises her. The wardrobes in Another Simple Favor are as narratively loaded as the dialogue. Every outfit is a statement, a strategy, a mood. Emily’s ensembles grow increasingly extravagant, from sleek power suits to a dramatic black lace mourning gown that feels more like a costume for deception than grief. It's a brilliant visual echo of the film’s tone—over-the-top, playful, and just a little bit dangerous.
In a way, Emily’s clothing lines are her weaponry, and Kalfus wields them with the precision of a comic book artist inklining a hero’s silhouette. They’re glamorous grenades in a plot that sometimes stumbles but never loses its sense of style. When Emily dons a world’s largest sunhat just before a key confrontation, you can’t help but admire how the film turns fashion into foreshadowing.
Behind the Scenes: Blake Lively’s Bold Improv and the Cast’s Real-Life Stability
One of the most delicious layers to Another Simple Favor is what we know about its cast off-screen. Blake Lively, who once famously improvised the now-infamous “grab your nuts” moment on Henry Golding’s character during the original film, is as fearless behind the camera as she is in front of it. The playful dynamic between Lively, Golding, and Kendrick—under the veteran guidance of Paul Feig—clearly carries through to the sequel.
And while the film revels in messy romantic entanglements and trust-no-one vibes, the real lives of its stars tell a different story. Lively has been happily married to Ryan Reynolds since 2012, Golding is wed to Liv Lo, and Kendrick remains private about her personal life, despite her character’s emotional rollercoaster on-screen. It’s a striking contrast to the chaos they portray, and maybe that groundedness off-set gives them the freedom to dive so deeply into cinematic chaos.
Plot Overload or Passionate Pastiche? Why This Sequel Works When It Embraces Its Excess
Sure, Another Simple Favor piles on the twists—there’s murder, betrayal, a baffling incest subplot, and more smoke-and-mirror twists than a magic show in Vegas. Allison Janney’s Aunt Linda crashes the party late and feels more like a plot device than a fully fleshed character. But that’s kind of the point. The film isn’t aiming for tight thriller logic; it’s channeling the energy of a femme noir comic book where every turn is wilder than the last.
When Emily and Stephanie aren’t unraveling mysteries, they’re playing games—literally. A scene of “Fuck, Marry, Kill” uttered with the casual menace of assassins planning their next move sums up the tone perfectly. It’s messy. It’s silly. It’s absolutely in love with its own cleverness. And honestly, that’s enough.
Another Simple Favor Proves That Style, Substance, and Sharp Tongues Still Sell
In a year where we’re seeing unexpected sequels like The Accountant 2 and Now You See Me: Now Don’t, Another Simple Favor stands out by embracing what made the original a cult hit. It doesn’t fix what wasn’t broken. It glamorizes it. It sharpens it. It drinks it up through a crazy straw in Capri.
Emily Nelson may be lying to everyone again, and Stephanie Smothers may be figuring out how to play the game one step ahead. But one thing’s for sure—they’re having way more fun doing it than we ever thought they would. And that’s the kind of sequeling superhero comics wish they could pull off.