Another Simple Favor streams on Prime Video beginning May 1. This review is based on a screening at the 2025 SXSW Film and Television Festival.A sequel doesnt have to be bigger, although many of them, including Another Simple Favor, choose to go this route. It doesnt even have to be better, really, given the low expectations audiences historically have for follow-ups. What it has to be is more specifically, more of whatever made the first film work well enough to justify a second one.In the case of A Simple Favor, the thing that charmed audiences enough to bring in five times the budget was the effervescent chemistry between stars Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick (with some delicious bon mots and fabulous costume design as a bonus). The sequel delivers more of all these things: Kendrick is still tiny and spunky, the queen of the skeptical head tilt and sassy comeback. And Lively is still tall and unflappable, intriguing and intimidating at the same time. Another Simple Favor GalleryThe script gives them plenty of witty lines to volley back and forth, with enough left over for supporting players like Andrew Rannells, who tells his young daughter early in the film, If you cant be smart, be funny. If you cant be funny, be pretty. Thats typical of the scripts pithy, bitchy dialogue, written by returning screenwriter Jessica Sharzer along with Altered Carbon creator Laeta Kalogridis.Another Simple Favor takes the action to Italy, where Emily (Lively) and Stephanie (Kendrick) reunite at the formers wedding on the stunning island of Capri. At risk of spoilers, the natural question here is, Didnt Emily go to jail at the end of the last movie? Yes, and true to the movies tongue-in-cheek tone, thats explained away with a single line after Emily stomps back into Stephanies life in a pair of rhinestone-studded stiletto boots. Stephanie owes Emily you guessed it another favor, given the whole sending her to prison after having sex with her husband, and then writing a book about it thing. Henry Golding is back as Emilys errant now-ex-spouse, and his (unfortunately brief, for reasons best not explained here) appearance in the film is a comedic highlight. Weddings also bring family members back into the fold, and Allison Janney joins the cast as Emilys estranged aunt Linda, whos more conniving and dangerous than she appears. And of course there must be a husband, and Michele Morrone does his duty being hunky and a little scary as Emilys betrothed Dante, whos the heir to a massive fortune no one wants to talk about. (The Mafia. Its the Mafia.)Dante is using Emily, Emily is using Stephanie, Aunt Linda is obviously up to something, and bodies keep appearing in inconvenient places as this cutthroat crew prepares for the big day. One innovation Another Simple Favor brings to its Agatha Christie-esque plot is arranging events in a way that wrests them out of Emilys control, and observing the shifts in her character and motivation that follow that change. This means that Stephanie is also out of control, which she hates, although her intelligence means that shes never behind the curve for long. With Another Simple Favor, it's better to concentrate on what works: The performances, the script, and the costumes. Oh, the costumes.There are a few too many plot threads for all of them to pay off a subplot involving single mom Stephanies son Miles (Joshua Satine), conveniently away at a no-phones-allowed summer camp, goes nowhere, for example. And the films attempts to outdo its predecessor in intrigue are absurd in a way thats sometimes fun, and sometimes off-puttingly bizarre. But this is Italy, birthplace of the giallo film. And intentionally or not, Another Simple Favors more lurid psychosexual twists are true to that particular genre.If the plot escalations are variable, one area where bigger is unilaterally worse for Another Simple Favor is in the camerawork. Director Paul Feig is known for long takes designed not to interfere with his actors performances, and his lack of finesse with more complicated sequences is obvious in haphazardly assembled drone shots that sweep over the dramatic cliffs of Capri. This wouldnt be that big of a deal, except that there are aPlayBetter to concentrate on what works: The performances, the script, and the costumes. Oh, the costumes. The contrast between Lively and Kendricks wardrobes tells you everything you need to know about their characters, with Livelys breathtakingly luxe menswear-inspired ensembles contrasting with Kendricks momcore jean shorts and worn-out hoodies. She does get to wear some pretty dresses at the wedding festivities, in scenes that are smorgasbords of moneyed excess and natural splendor. Throw some slick Italo-pop on top, and youve got a piece of escapist entertainment thats more clever than most. So what if it doesnt always make sense?