A SIMPLE FAVOR

Anna Kendrick     Blake Lively     Henry Golding

Ian Ho     Joshua Satine     Jean Smart     Rupert Friend

     Ah yes, a simple favor indeed.  This comedic drama is fun to watch with all the baits and switches leading down one path and then another and with plenty of comedy that stays just short of slapstick.  The entertaining novel by Darcy Bell, on which Jessica Sharzer has based her screenplay, has been translated to the screen by the multi-talented director Paul Feig. It maintains the Gone Girl type of intrigue and suspense about a missing woman, with crafty plotting that keeps the viewer rapt in trying to figure out what is what and who is who.  

     But most ingenious is the casting of Anna Kendrick to be the naïve do-gooder/housewife-vlogger who ends up also being an astute detective and sly manipulator. We knew Kendrick could be funny, as in Drinking Buddies, and could show dramatic flair, as in Up in the Air; but her skill here in being an endearing figure you initially smile at but one who will eventually be a sharp-witted, rational plotter, and sexy is truly impressive.  Blake Lively is very much a counterpart foil playing the attractive, cold, bad girl who feels free to say and do anything she pleases.  When the two are onscreen together, sparks fly—sometimes in attraction, sometimes in competition. Clearly, the two actors are having fun with their acting skills in every scene.

     The story begins in a grade school setting with Stephanie (Kendrick) being the stereotypical mom who is known for her cooking, crafts, and enthusiastic volunteering and, by the way, has her own vlog in which she cooks and throws out helpful hints and other thoughts about—anything.  When her son Miles (Satine) makes friends with Nicky (Ho), she and Nicky’s mother Emily (Lively) are drawn together, Stephanie to Emily’s worldliness (no rules, no “I’m sorry”s) and Emily to Stephanie’s innocence (“You’re so nice I don’t know how you’ve survived this long”).  As you would expect, Stephanie’s son is polite and well behaved, whereas Nicky is volatile and freely uses the f-word. Ian Ho’s acting-out role allows him to show his theatrical talent, which he does very convincingly.

     The relationship between the two women is fascinating throughout in its mixture of mutual awe, admiration, wonderment, and daring.  This is the aspect of the film I appreciated the most. Both women represent the typical American woman with many layers and dimensionality in their personalities.  With his keen understanding of women, this drama is a perfect one for Paul Feig to direct.  We immediately recognize Stephanie, but we need background information about Emily to develop even a modicum of sympathy—and respect—for her. We get that with the well conceived script and story line.

     A Simple Favor keeps going on and on until it becomes absurd toward the end, but it doesn’t lose any of its entertainment value even so.

 A movie with laughs, intrigue, and thrills that will make you chuckle afterwards, even while you shake your head.

Grade:  B+                                    By Donna R. Copeland

GHOSTBUSTERS

Kristin Wiig   Melissa McCarthy   Kate McKinnon   Leslie Jones   Chris Hemsworth   Bill Murray   Cecily Strong

          For those who like slapstick comedy, sitcoms, and special effects, this movie will be a blast (literally).  It’s very much in the style of most of the Melissa McCarthy films, where she is outrageous but smart.  As Abby, she has three side-kicks here, one a legitimate scientist (Wiig as physicist Erin), one a female scientist-nerd (McKinnon as Jillion), and one a New York street-wise woman with practical connections and a vast knowledge of New York’s history (Jones as Patty).  At first, Erin is put off by Abby’s promotion of their co-authored book on parapsychology and ghosts from some years back, until….sightings of ghosts are reported throughout the city.  And when she witnesses a graphic ghost appearance, she is on board.  Unfortunately, she is fired from her university job for even being associated with such an endeavor.  Nevertheless, she goes on to form part of a team of ghostbusters who will be discredited but remain committed and valiant.

         Ghostbusters is remarkable for a number of assets that are impressive, particularly the casting and the special and visual effects.  Cinematography (Robert D. Yeoman) is likewise noteworthy.   McCarthy and Wiig have demonstrated their talent in numerous productions (Wiig:  Bridesmaids, The Skeleton Twins, Saturday Night Live; McCarthy:  Bridesmaids, Spy, St. Vincent), but McKinnon, new to moviedom, steals the show in her portrayal of a character not seen in most of movieland—a female nerd who is an expert in firearms.  She doesn’t just shoot them; she creates them.  McKinnon’s characterization of this odd, entertaining inventor is a rare treat, especially since, for all its female empowerment, this Ghostbusters pulls out all the tired female stereotypes we’ve seen in countless films:  Girlie shrieks and jumping up and down after a success, yammering and arguing over trivia, complete melt-down and foolishness at the sight of a handsome man, and on and on.  I’m disappointed in these actresses for this, as well as the writer Katie Dippold and director, Paul Feig, whom I thought previously was a champion of women.

      In their defense, the Hemsworth character, Kevin, who is supposed to be the receptionist for the ghostbuster group, goes against the actor’s normally heroic persona to one who is rather dim and narcissistic.  He doesn’t know how to answer the phone or respond logically to questions, and is completely preoccupied with his own interests.  He, the mayor (Andy Garcia), and other males don’t come off much better than the females.  Maybe female/male stereotypes were meant to be part of the jokes of the film.

        Other casting strengths include the number of the previous Ghostbuster actors (Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver, Dan Akroyd, and Annie Potts) as well as cameo appearances of notables like Ed Begley, Jr., Charles Dance, Michael Kenneth Williams, Andy Garcia, and Al Roker.  These, as well as references to a host of other films add a special element of fun.

A surprising thriller teeming with goofiness.

Grade:  C+                        By Donna R. Copeland

SPY

Rose Byrne     Melissa McCarthy     Jude Law     Jason Statham     Allison Janney     Bobby Cannavale     50 Cent
 

Spy starts out with Jude Law (CIA Agent Fine) in Bulgaria aiming his gun at someone; he sneezes and the gun goes off (the first of many scenes of violence with comedy); immediately, he has to fight off 10 assailants.  At the writer/director Paul Feig’s SXSW press conference, he said that after he and the stunt coordinator choreographed the scene, he was very apprehensive when Law informed him he could come only a day in advance of filming the scene.  Not to worry, though, Feig said Law “nailed it; he should be the next James Bond.”

      Feig’s most recent film is unusual in the spy genre in that it’s filled with actresses.  Melissa McCarthy plays Susan Cooper, a trained spy who works at a desk, giving instructions and directions through his earpiece to Agent Fine out in the field.  He also has her doing his household chores, and it’s obvious she is smitten with him.  But suddenly he goes off the grid, and another agent needs to go undercover to find the killer and to finish the job of locating a nuclear bomb known to be in the hands of cold and beautiful Rayna Boyanov (Rose Byrne), daughter of a wealthy Russian.  Agent Ford (Statham) is sure he will be given the order to go by Chief Crocker (Janney), but is taken aback when Cooper volunteers on the basis that absolutely no one will know her.  Ford is insulted to be upstaged by a woman—especially this one—behaves very badly, and tries to thwart her in every move she makes.

      But it turns out that Cooper has been well trained to do fieldwork, so Crocker thinks she is the best choice.  It’s a comedown for Cooper that her new identity will be an Iowan housewife dressed in farm clothes and booked into a seedy hotel.  She is ever so resolute, however, in doing the best job possible and sets out, going to Paris, Rome, then Budapest.  To her dismay, Ford, against orders to stand down, tails her, and frequently makes mistakes, which Cooper has to handle.

     Unexpectedly—and delightfully—Cooper surprises us with her excellent skills in strategy, physical encounters, quick identity shifts, and diplomacy—whatever is called for by a situation.  When she manages to have her path cross that of Boyanov, we are in for even more thrills/comedy.  Byrne and McCarthy play off each other in a way that to women will be very realistic; Boyanov initially poking fun at Cooper in a gentile way, but gradually Cooper winning her grudging respect, not only for her appearance, but for her skills as well.  I am delighted that McCarthy is finally breaking out of the slapstick roles and using her considerable talent in something serious.

      Spy is especially gratifying for its inclusion of strong, capable women in a genre sorely lacking such roles.  At the press conference, I asked Feig what he saw in McCarthy that convinced him she would be good in an action role.  He said that, first of all, he loves filming funny women.  He grew up around women and was more comfortable with females as a child than with the horseplay of boys.  When he began his career in film, he noticed actresses weren’t being given good roles.  Then once, when there was a lull in scripts coming past his desk and he saw Skyfall, he was a bit wistful because he had always wanted to make a Bond film.  “Hey, wait!” he said to himself; “I love working with funny women.  Why don’t I write my own spy movie starring a woman?”  And the movie Spy was born.  Even though he didn’t write the Cooper character for her, when McCarthy read the script she immediately wanted the role.  He went on to say that “Melissa has power, even though she’s one of the funniest on the planet…She’s also like your best friend…not intimidating.”  My goal was to make Spy feel real, and Melissa’s just the best at that. 

      Feig said similar things about Rose Byrne after his experience with her in Bridesmaids and seeing her in Get Him to the Greek and other productions.  He noted how versatile she can be; she can be really scary and cold, but funny as well.  She knows how to inhabit a character in a way that can be funny without being forced.

      Spy is an exciting film that the viewer can become absorbed in, even with the comedy sprinkled throughout.  The actresses are very good, including Janney and Miranda Hart in supporting roles; but so too are Law, Statham, and cameos by Cannavale and 50 Cent. 

You won’t want to miss Paul Feig’s latest production.

Grade:  A By Donna R. Copeland