Not Approved

A Simple Favor

A Simple Favor centers around Stephanie (Anna Kendrick), a mommy blogger who seeks to uncover the truth behind her best friend Emily's (Blake Lively) sudden disappearance from their small town.
23
Negative Rating
12345
SexLanguageViolenceDrugsNudityOther
0
Positive Rating
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FaithIntegrity

Dove Review

A Simple Favor is quite captivating and full of mayhem and psychosis.

Blake Lively (Emily) and Anna Kendrick (Stephanie) are well cast as they settle into their expected personas: the latter is cute, predictable, and endearing; the former gorgeous, and captivating. Stephanie is the seemingly perfect single mom who can’t stop volunteering, but when she offers to be Emily’s friend and occasional sitter for her young boy, Stephanie gets more than what she bargained for. Her innocence turns stealthy spy as she goes on the hunt for her missing friend, Emily, finding a surprise around every corner.

True to form, just when I thought I had Stephanie figured out, I was thrown for a loop; Emily is jarringly confrontational as these two navigate an unlikely friendship that leads to the unveiling of secrets that change both their lives forever. The inner workings of their relationships, which include Emily’s husband Sean (Golding), is where most of the R rating lies via swearing, sex, drug use, alcohol consumption and violence.

This film is many things at once, which satisfies a lot of sensibilities: It is funny, scary, fantastical, and relevant, and it is not for the faint of heart. It includes present-day social media with a stylish spy genre, and the often-French soundtrack matches its high fashion yet vintage feel. Director Paul Feig does an excellent job of inserting humor in unlikely places, and using flashbacks from several points of view to keep us guessing “whodunit.”

Due to extreme sexual content, vulgar language, and violence, A Simple Favor is not Dove Approved.

The Dove Take

The movie is engaging, an intriguing and suspense-filled couple of hours for adults not offended by risqué subject matter and crude language.

Dove Rating Details

0
Faith

No overt Christian message

0
Integrity

Expect several violent incidents (murders, a shooting, a car accident, vehicular assault) and images of their aftermath.

5
Sex

Graphic descriptions of sexual situations such as incest, affairs, and threesomes; there are multiple sexual situations.

5
Language

Lots of strong language, including swear words ("f--k," "s--t," and more)

4
Violence

Expect several violent incidents (murders, a shooting, a car accident, vehicular assault) and images of their aftermath.

5
Drugs

Characters also do a lot of day drinking, sometimes to excess; heroin use is a plot point.

4
Nudity

Rear nudity, revealing clothing, bare legs during sex, and an explicit portrait of one of the characters is shown frequently.

0
Other

None

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