If you’re like me and eagerly awaiting the unnecessary-but-delightful sequel A Simple Favor (titled Another Simple Favor—apparently A Simple Favor II: Electric Boogaloo didn’t make the cut?) when it hits Prime Video on May 1, then today’s rom-com recap is for you. That’s right—it’s time to revisit the original 2018 thriller starring Blake Lively, Anna Kendrick, and Henry Golding.
Below, you’ll find every single thought I had while rewatching A Simple Favor on Netflix.
– These opening credits are so stylish and French. Paul Feig, you sneaky Francophile!
– Wait, this was based on a novel? How did I not know that?
– Anna Kendrick plays Stephanie, a mommy blogger baking zucchini chocolate chip cookies. (Paleo moms, I beg you—love yourselves more than this.)
– She just said “a simple favor”! Everyone take a shot!
– TL;DR: Emily (Blake Lively) is missing, and Stephanie is concerned—but not too concerned to stop vlogging about it.
– Why do fancy schools do “International Cuisine Day”? The kids aren’t old enough to organize this—it’s just extra work for the parents!
– Oh hey, Andrew Rannells! And Aparna Nancherla!
– If I ever have a kid, will the other parents be mean to me? I already survived school cliques once—I don’t need a sequel.
– Blake Lively’s entrance? Top 10 best of all time.
– She is so gay-coded in this movie (and ridiculously hot, if I may say so).
– “Mommy already has a playdate with a symphony of antidepressants.” Iconic.
– Stephanie, if a gorgeous woman in a trilby asks if you drink, the answer is always yes.
– Françoise Hardy playing in the background? Perfect.
– Emily says apologizing is a toxic female habit, but when someone tells me not to, I just apologize for apologizing. How do I escape this loop?
– Oh right, Stephanie’s a single mom here, while her husband Sean (Henry Golding) is distractingly handsome.
– Henry Golding and Blake Lively making out? Bisexual panic activated.
– Can we ban the term “mommy brain”?
– There’s no decent nanny in all of Connecticut? Seriously? I’d move there in a heartbeat if it meant getting paid well and flirted with by Stephanie and Sean.
– Stephanie’s lesbian-groomsman suit is a look.
– The soundtrack just dropped some Zaz—perfection.
– I think Emily just gave martini-making advice, but I zoned out.
– These two are wasted.
– Emily’s bisexual reveal!
– “Prudes are people too.” So true.
– Stephanie spills her darkest secret (hooking up with her half-brother?) way too easily.
– No one delivers a line like Blake Lively saying, “You’re a brother-fucker! Oh, that is good.”
– Runner-up for best line: “Hey brother-fucker, want to stay for dinner?”
– I need a friend who’ll get drunk, overshare, and then cook me dinner.
– Andrew Rannells watching this chaotic friendship? That’s all of us.
– “Give ’em heck!” Sweet, naive Steph.
– No matter how annoying your mom-friend is, you can’t just abandon your kid with her for days.
– Oop, now Sean’s home and the cops are involved.
– Why does Emily hate being photographed so much?
– I’m the perfect person to recap this thriller because I’ve seen it before but remember nothing.
– A mommy-vlog true-crime hybrid? I’d watch that.
– Stephanie’s attempt at an “Emily-style” fancy outfit is sending me.
– PATTI HARRISON!
– “You bargain-basement Tom Ford.” Stephanie channeling Emily? Chef’s kiss.
– I desperately want to gossip with this trio of judgmental parents watching Stephanie spiral.She made a fool of herself.
Oh no, are Stephanie and Sean going to hook up?
I’ve seen this whole movie before, yet here I am, completely hooked on every twist!
They found Emily’s body.
Or… DID THEY?
Wait, okay, that’s definitely her.
Or… IS IT?
Andrew Rannells (sorry, blanking on his character’s name) admitting to Stephanie that he and his friends watch her vlog just to mock it is bold—almost admirable.
Emily’s kid accurately calls out Stephanie for trying to replace his mom, and it clearly stings, even though she’s still trying to help him grieve.
Yep, Stephanie and Sean are hooking up. Called it!
(I think the kid’s name is Nicky, but don’t quote me on that.)
And Stephanie’s son’s name is… uh… something. It’s definitely a name.
Now for some emotionally charged Serge Gainsbourg!
French people saying “Bonnie Parker” and “Clyde Barrow” will never not be funny.
Ah, the classic “trying on the dead woman’s clothes” moment.
Oh wow, Sean took out a massive life insurance policy on Emily before she died. Are we looking at a family annihilator situation?
Anna Kendrick has Steve Carell-level comedic timing.
Yikes—Nicky says he saw his mom at school. Ghost? Or is someone… not dead?
Aaaand he has the blue bracelet Stephanie made for Emily!
Dude, staying with a woman who stole your mom’s jewelry is… a choice.
Then again, Sean knew exactly what he was getting into with Emily.
Steph, if a man says, “You see me,” RUN.
Gun in a Manolo Blahnik box!
And a dildo in a dresser drawer!
Man, Emily was (is???) wild.
Stephanie moving in with Sean? Girl, NO.
Vlog séance time.
The kid playing Nicky has serious acting chops.
Oh crap—Stephanie got a note referencing her “brother-fucker” past, which could only be from Emily.
Then a telemarketer calls.
Then Emily calls!
Such is life.
OMG, Sean! Cue Gaslighter by The Chicks.
Wait, so Stephanie’s late husband knew about her thing with her brother? And maybe intentionally killed them both?
Forgot about this: the Emily/Stephanie kiss that Stephanie’s into and Emily’s totally unfazed by.
LINDA CARDELLINI!
In an artsy-lesbian role, no less!
Aha! The Michigan camp where Emily “died” connects to her past as “Claudia” with Linda’s artist character.
OMG, Emily used to be… twins? Named Hope and Faith? Like that Kelly Ripa sitcom?
Last all-caps shout: JEAN SMART!
Stephanie’s detective hair bow is killing me.
This woman is flawless.
“It’s unseemly, the way that man polices me.” Perfection.
Emily’s mom knows her as Faith and mentions a mysterious fire.
Stephanie’s skill at talking her way out of trouble is impressive (she escapes with the twin revelation).
Still vlogging while investigating your possibly dead, definitely unhinged bestie after moving in with her husband? Dedication.
Hey, there’s Emily! Watching the vlog, furious!
Stephanie rapping along to the radio is giving major Marnie Michaels “Stronger” energy.
Emily meets Sean in disguise (in a fabulous hat) to yell at him for sleeping with Stephanie.
So Emily faked her death for the insurance money?
Oops, and she’s got another gun!
Stephanie tells Sean about Emily’s twin (explaining the DNA match), and there’s an insurance agent here… why?
Oh, because the claim’s being denied. Got it.
Nothing gets past me!
Stephanie’s wardrobe upgrade clearly means… (something ominous).She’s got the upper hand. Yes, queen! Turn the tables on him!
Emily in that white suit—I’m obsessed!
Wait, I just realized—this is totally the inspiration for the Met Gala suit I have at the tailor right now, and I didn’t even make the connection.
Hold up—they were triplets? Faith, Hope, and Charity?
Okay, so Hope and Faith killed their awful dad. Then they split up because sticking together made them too easy to spot? And they planned to reunite, but Hope never showed?
So Emily met Faith at their old camp and… killed her?
Also, what did they do to Blake Lively’s face to make her look like her own heroin-addicted twin?
Wait, no—Emily didn’t actually kill her twin? Oh, LOL, never mind, she did, but only after Faith tried to drown her. And she planted the ring she stole from Sean’s mom on her!
But she’s clearly lying to Stephanie about killing her sister, and Stephanie actually catches her in the lie.
Sean knew the whole time?!
Aww, Emily came back for her son!
I kinda love the working-mom vs. stay-at-home-mom tension they’re playing with here.
Perfect song choice with Laisse tomber les filles—”Leave the girls alone,” indeed!
Female scheming? Here for it.
OMG, Andrew Rannells to the rescue!
Okay, after a wild back-and-forth of double-crossing… Emily gets arrested? At least she seems to be enjoying jail.
Aww, and Stephanie’s a private detective/vlogger now.
Have I ever had this many thoughts about a movie before?