A Simple Favour, though, ultimately has its foot in both camps. On the one hand, it’s a twisty, Hitchcock-hat-tipping thriller (right down to Theodore Shapiro’s terrific score), and on the other a very funny comedy. It sometimes treads an unusual and not always successful line between the two. But then conversely, it works in its own way as both. But her life turns when she encounters Blake Lively’s Emily, who, let’s charitably say, is less interested in getting on with people. The two of them end up having a drink, in what turns out to be a pivotal scene in the movie, and the plot begins to kick in. I’m staying light on plot details because a) manners, and b) this one twists. And twists. And twists. There’s, in fact, an awful lot of plot that the film has to explore, and every now and then there’s the sense that it’s in danger of tying itself up in knots. Furthermore, plot sometimes has to be got through fast, with Feig clearly conscious that he wants a movie that fits under a two hour running time. To fit that, some sacrifices have to be made, and some things are a little more convenient than you may expect. On top of the aforementioned humour, too, it’s just fun to hang on for the ride. There’s a real effort made here to pull the rug, keep you interested, keep things twisting, and give you at heart an old-style thriller, just one with sex, violence, and a massive painting of someone’s nether regions. Furthermore, the whole thing rattles along at a good pace, never lets things drop below entertaining, and happily eschews grounding things in grim reality, in favour of gloss, style, breeze and fun. I’m quite happy with that trade off, and had an awful lot of fun with A Simple Favour. Going by the reactions coming out of America, I suspect I’m not alone. A Simple Favour is in UK cinemas now.
