(3 / 4)
A delightfully crazy cocktail of crime thriller elements and knowing winks makes A Simple Favor a wildly entertaining parody of past domestic mysteries Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train.
A Simple Favor is the latest mystery thriller adapted from a bestselling novel featuring the unreliable narrator storytelling technique and taking place in the false security of the suburbs. Watching the trailer and reading the synopsis, it would be easy to write off the story as a second-rate version of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, as the influences from this smash hit are readily apparent. Interestingly enough, the 2017 Darcey Bell novel’s similarity to the 2014 smash hit was the very reason movie studios were clamoring to obtain the film rights prior to the book’s publication. With funnyman Paul Feig at the helm though it becomes clear that much like the central mystery of Emily’s disappearance, there is more to this tale than meets the eye.