Critic Reviews

Feig has done a superb job of building a compelling story from angular bits that shouldn’t fit together but do while making pointed commentary on everything from gender roles to social media.

Just strap in, because A Simple Favor's plot isn't just twisty: It's so labyrinthine that you expect a minotaur to pop up.

Thanks to the stylish direction by Paul Feig, a whip-smart screenplay by Jessica Sharzer (adapting Darcey Bells’ novel) and performances that pop from the screen, A Simple Favor is a sharp-edged delight.

A Simple Favor is a sharply dressed comedy-thriller, and the screenplay is even sharper. Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively dominate the screen in two of their best and funniest roles, and director Paul Feig is in rare form, using spry humor to make this subversive and creepy thriller more unusual and unpredictable.

The film is full of panache, from its sexy French score to its glistening gin martinis, and it weaponizes style, using it to keep audiences off balance as the mystery unfolds.

If Double Indemnity were a hangout movie, this would be its sequel. It’s delicious.

Paul Feig makes a slight gear change for a slick thriller that’s best enjoyed with a martini in hand.

For all its ludicrous plot twists and a mystery that falls too conveniently into place, A Simple Favor is just fun. It's light and frothy.

Chic, sexy, and just the right amount of sleazy, A Simple Favor is a stunning thrill ride, a viciously engrossing experience that has become so rare in studio filmmaking.

With its martini-swilling leads and swingy French pop soundtrack, A Simple Favor seems to yearn for a bygone era of nail-biter, but rather than wallow in pastiche, it comes up with something truly contemporary feeling.