Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively in “Another Simple Favor.”
Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick are reprising their roles from A Simple Favor with the sequel Another Simple Favor. Are critics favoring the sequel over the original?
A Simple Favor director Paul Feig reunites with his stars of the 2018 hit film to direct Another Simple Favor, which premieres on streaming Thursday on Prime Video.
The official summary for Another Simple Favor reads, “Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick) and Emily Nelson (Blake Lively) reunite on the beautiful island of Capri, Italy, for Emily’s extravagant wedding to a rich Italian businessman. Along with the glamorous guests, expect murder and betrayal to RSVP for a wedding with more twists and turns than the road from the Marina Grande to the Capri town square.”
Rated R, Another Simple Favor also stars Allison Janney, Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells, Alex Newell, Michele Morrone and Elizabeth Perkins.
Another Simple Favor to date has received an 81% “fresh” rating from Rotten Tomatoes critics based on 37 reviews. The RT Critics Consensus for the film reads, “Sailing through on the strength of its predecessor, Another Simple Favor is the perfect cocktail of mystery, intrigue, and sharp casting with a dash of well-timed comedy.”
By contrast, 2018’s A Simple Favor received an 84% “fresh” rating on RT based on 258 reviews. The RT Critics Consensus for the original film reads, “Twisty, twisted, and above all simply fun, A Simple Favor casts a stylish mommy noir spell strengthened by potent performances from Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively.”
What Are Individual Critics Saying About ‘Another Simple Favor’?
Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter is among the top critics on RT who give Another Simple Favor a “fresh” rating, writing, “The friendship between these two is still the strongest part of the Simple Favor universe, and it’s really thanks to them that Another Simple Favor is watchable.”
Kristy Puchko of Mashable also favored Another Simple Favor, writing in her “fresh” review on RT, “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.”
IndieWire’s Christian Zilko also gives Another Simple Favor a “fresh” review on RT, writing, “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.”
Among the top critics on RT who give Another Simple Favor a “rotten” review is Variety’s Owen Gleiberman, who writes that the film “feels in a way that the first movie didn’t, like an elaborate kitsch-crime schematic that the performers are going through the motions acting out.”
Another Simple Favor also gets a “rotten” review from Jacob Oller of AV Club, who writes on RT, “Though the simplest pleasures remain, the heat powering the concept has cooled to the extent that, despite the increased body count, the sequel feels as perfunctory as its title. It’s just Another one.”
Another Simple Favor premieres on streaming on Prime Video on Thursday.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/timlammers/2025/04/30/another-simple-favor-reviews-do-critics-favor-blake-lively-and-anna-kendrick-sequel/