Tanya’s Score: Okay*
Rated: 14A
Starring: a Bella, a Gossip, a Crazy Rich Asian
Plot: When Stephanie’s (Anna Kendrick) best friend (Blake Lively) inexplicably goes missing, the widowed single mother plays detective in order to solve the mystery.
Tanya’s Verdict: This movie cannot make up it’s mind – is it a comedy? (Nope – not funny enough) Is it a mystery? (Nope – not mysterious enough) It ends up coming across as a confused and inconsistent mess from beginning to end.
Imagine a couple of cutesy ninth-graders trying to shed their pretty and virginal images – so they dress up and clumsily act the way they believe sexy, edgy grown-ups behave. Now you have the gist of A Simple Favor.
Even my daughters didn’t enjoy it – so I have no idea who the target audience is.
The few bright spots within this movie are provided by the comic relief of the three parents who watch the dynamic of BFFs Stephanie and Emily from afar – especially the father played by Andrew Rannells (I’ve always liked him). But their scenes are few and far between.
*Four score descriptions: Sh**;Okay; Good; Great