Well, it took quite a while for Madame Web to be unseated on Netflix’s top 10 movie list, as something I highly recommended as a must-see given the “it’s so bad it’s good” nature of it. But now the new #1 movie is…good. Just very good.
That would be A Simple Favor, a 2018 film starring Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively, both of whom haven’t been acting in quite as high profile projects lately, but it’s been announced they will return for a sequel set in Capri, Italy. The boost the movie will get from Netflix will certainly help generate some interest in that, I imagine.
The genre here is…interesting. It’s said to be a “black comedy crime thriller” and I’d certainly add “mystery” in there as well. It’s just a very enjoyable film, and follows Kendrick’s character trying to solve the disappearance of her “elegant and mysterious” friend played by Lively. The fact that there’s a sequel indicates that yeah, she found her, but it’s a great film.
The movie has an 84% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics, pretty high for the genre, though if most people have not seen it, I would not be shocked. It opened with just $16 million at the domestic box office, but did go on to make $97 million over time. With an estimated $20 million budget, that’s a decently big success, and I’m a little surprised it took them this long to make a sequel. Still, I know that not as many people have watched this movie as should, so now you can for free ( free”)on Netflix.
Netflix tends to do this often, grabbing up 5-6 year old movies people missed and elevating them to probably be the most-watched movies in the country due to the enormous reach of the service. Sometimes those movies are bad (hi Madame Web) or sometimes they’re quite good, like A Simple Favor.
It’s R-rated so it’s not exactly a family flick to watch on a weekend evening, depending on the ages of your kids, but it’s hardly graphic and I think most will end up enjoying it quite a bit. Both Kendrick and especially Lively here are amazing, and after rewatching this, I cannot wait to see them return for a sequel. I am sort of getting White Lotus vibes here, though obviously this existed before White Lotus was even a thing. Enjoy!
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