A Simple Favor (film)

A Simple Favor is a 2018 American black comedy mystery film directed by Paul Feig from a screenplay by Jessica Sharzer, based on the 2017 novel by Darcey Bell. It stars Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Henry Golding, and Andrew Rannells, and follows a small-town vlogger (Kendrick) who tries to solve the disappearance of her elegant and mysterious friend (Lively).

The film's development began in 2016 when 20th Century Fox bought the rights to the novel. The following year, it was moved to Lionsgate with Feig hired to direct while Kendrick and Lively were cast in the leading roles. Filming took place in Toronto, Ontario and began on February 2017.

A Simple Favor was released theatrically by Lionsgate in the United States on September 14, 2018. The film was met with a favourable response for its plot twists and performances (especially that of Kendrick, Lively, and Golding). It grossed $97.6 million worldwide on a $20 million budget. A sequel, Another Simple Favor, was released on Amazon Prime Video on May 1, 2025, with Kendrick and Lively reprising their roles, and Feig returning as director.

Plot

In Warfield, Connecticut, widowed single mother Stephanie Smothers runs a vlog featuring crafts and recipes for mothers. She becomes friends with Emily Nelson, the mother of her son Miles' best friend and classmate Nicky and a PR director for a fashion company, and they start to meet in the afternoon over martinis.

Emily shares that she is frustrated by the lack of success of her husband, English professor Sean Townsend, and their poor financial situation. Later, Stephanie reveals that after her father died when she was a teenager, she discovered she had a half-brother, Chris, whom she once kissed, though Emily correctly guesses that they had sex.