Los Angeles—When “A Simple Favor” hit theaters in 2018, it carved out a niche as a slick, dark comedy-thriller, pulling in over $97 million worldwide on a $20 million budget. The chemistry between Anna Kendrick’s neurotic Stephanie Smothers and Blake Lively’s enigmatic Emily Nelson carried the film, a twisted tale of suburban secrets and martini-fueled chaos. Fast forward to May 1, 2025, and the straight-to-streaming sequel, “Another Simple Favor,” landed on Amazon Prime Video. The verdict? It’s a glossy, overstuffed mess that nobody asked for.
The original’s charm leaned on sharp writing and a tight plot, blending humor with just enough menace. The sequel, directed by Paul Feig again, tries to recapture that magic but stumbles hard. Kendrick and Lively return, joined by newcomers Michele Morrone as Dante, a suave Italian love interest, and Alex Newell as Vicky, a flamboyant sidekick. Set against the sun-drenched cliffs of Capri, Italy, the film leans heavily on its postcard-worthy backdrop—think sprawling villas and turquoise waters. But even the scenery can’t save a script that feels like it was stitched together from discarded soap opera drafts.
The story picks up years after the first film, with Stephanie and Emily entangled in another web of lies, this time involving a wedding, a murder, and a convoluted scheme that’s more confusing than clever. Scenes pile up with frenetic pacing—one minute it’s a campy rom-com, the next a gritty crime drama. By the halfway mark, when bodies start dropping, the plot feels like a car swerving across lanes, unable to pick a direction. Renee Ehrlich Kalfus’s costumes, especially Lively’s extravagant outfits, are a highlight, dripping with over-the-top glamour. Yet even these can’t distract from the film’s bloated runtime and lack of focus.
Production details paint a picture of a project rushed to capitalize on the original’s success. Filming wrapped in late 2024 after a six-week shoot in Italy, with Amazon announcing the release date on February 14, 2025, alongside a teaser trailer. The budget, reportedly around $30 million, went heavily into location shoots and star salaries—Kendrick and Lively each earned upwards of $5 million, per industry reports. But the investment didn’t translate to quality. Critics noted the absence of the first film’s biting wit, replaced by a reliance on visual flair and recycled gags.
The film’s streaming debut followed a limited theatrical run in select markets starting April 25, 2025, a strategy Amazon hoped would build buzz. It didn’t. Box office numbers were negligible, and viewership data, while not publicly disclosed, hasn’t sparked the cultural splash of its predecessor. Social media campaigns pushed hard, with Amazon dropping behind-the-scenes featurettes on April 20, but the response was lukewarm. Fans of the original, expecting another taut thriller, got a sequel that feels like it was made to fund a cast vacation.
Kendrick, 39, and Lively, 37, remain bankable stars, with Kendrick set to direct her next project and Lively producing a Netflix adaptation. Feig, a comedy veteran, has already moved on to a new series for HBO. But “Another Simple Favor” stands as a cautionary tale in Hollywood’s sequel churn. It’s not the worst film of 2025, but it’s a far cry from the sharp, surprising hit that came before it.
The film is available on Amazon Prime Video as of May 1, 2025, included with a standard subscription. It runs for 2 hours and 3 minutes, rated R for language and violence. The cast includes Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Michele Morrone, Alex Newell, and Henry Golding in a brief cameo.