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By Billie Melissa
Contributing Entertainment Writer
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SXSW is underway in Austin, Texas, where some of the year's most anticipated movies are screening to audiences for the first time.
One of the films people were keen to keep an eye on out of the festival was Paul Feig's follow-up to his 2018 hit, A Simple Favor, and the first reactions are now starting to roll in across social media out of the world premiere where the film's stars were in attendance.
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The aptly named Another Simple Favor reunites Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick as Emily Nelson and Stephanie Smothers for another mystery thriller that follows the two women on the glamorous island of Capri in Italy, where Emily is throwing an extravagant wedding for herself and her new husband, a rich Italian businessman.
The first trailer for the film was released less than two weeks ago but already has over 13 million views on YouTube alone and has fans buzzing about what's on the horizon for Stephanie and Emily seven years on.
Another Simple Favor First Reactions
Early reactions suggest the hype is warranted because Chalice of Reel Movie Junkie calls Another Simple Favor "such a delight" and "will keep you shocked at every turn."
Chalice also praises Lively and Kendrick for their performances and suggests that the dark comedy they utilised so well in the first film is amplified in this next chapter.
More praise comes from Ryan McQuade at Awards Watch, who calls Another Simple Favor "twisty, chaotic, and funny" and that "Kendrick and Lively knock it out of the park again."
Tessa Smith of Mama's Geeky says the film features "lots of hilarious callbacks to the first" and that the "twists are shocking, unexpected, & just keep coming."
The compliments keep rolling, too, as Rachel Foertsch of Screen Rant says "rarely do sequels live up to the original, but I enjoyed the film just as much, if not more."
Collider's Nate Richard opposes that opinion, saying, "I still prefer that first movie, but this is a worthy follow up."
More first reactions to Another Simple Favor can be found below.
Another Simple Favor Reviews
The hype from the first reactions was affirmed in the film's first Rotten Tomatoes reviews, too, where 23 critics so far have rated the film at 70%, a score which slips slightly from its predecessor's Certified Fresh score of 84%.
However, A Simple Favor has over 250 reviews, so with more critics likely to see the film in the coming weeks ahead of its May 1 release, it's possible that Another Simple Favor will find its score shifting.
Here's what some of the critics had to say about Another Simple Favor:
- indieWire: A swing for the fences that's unconstrained by any form of reality is a pleasant thing to watch, even if its existence feels like little more than an excuse for the cast to hang out in Capri while Blake Lively models an indescribable collection of hats.
- Deadline: While some might argue that Feig and writers Jessica Sharzer and Laeta Kalogridis are too reliant on obvious nods to the original film, the references ultimately add a playful camp wink to a fun and exciting film that stands on its own.
- New York Magazine/Vulture: It follows its own internal logic -- at least in the first half. The second... throws that logic out to lead with whims. It doesn't feel subversively strange, just self-consciously campy and irritatingly smug.
- Mashable: If your favorite bits of A Simple Favor was Lively embracing her inner bad girl and delivering face and looks? You'll cherish this divinely twisted thriller.
- Discussing Film: Another Simple Favor has some truly hilarious moments between Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively, but makes some incredibly bizarre story decisions for the sake of cheap shock value.
When Does Another Simple Favor Release?
Following its premiere at the SXSW film festival, Another Simple Favor will be released on May 1 on Prime Video.
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