The Unicorn Scale: A Simple Favor

By Jennie Roberson

October 21, 2019

Share

Donate

Photo credit: Lionsgate

Happy June, Unicorns! Who’s ready for a good, underrated bi flick? Then I’m glad you’re here! Welcome. Leave your coat at the door. I’ve whipped up some delicious snacks, and there should be enough for everyone.

Sometimes it’s hard to find the right fare to watch with the changing seasons. Enter A Simple Favor (2018), a genre-bending, mystery/comedy flick starring Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively,  directed by comedy veteran Paul Feig. Yeah, okay, sure, that all sounds fine and good — but what does this have to do with the Unicorn Scale? Well, let’s find out together.

Before we get ahead of ourselves, let me plop down a few disclaimers. I will need to employ a few SPOILERS in order to discuss ASF’s relevance to this column. Also, there are a few sequences involving violence and language, so it’s time to tuck away the kiddies before getting involved in this elegant comedy. Finally, if this is your first time around these parts — or you’d just love to get a refresher on what this Scale is all about — you can find out all about that right over here.

We Gucci? Great. But let me fix an extra-strong martini first. With frozen gin — that’s the key to a good one, you know.

A Simple Favor focuses on fastidious single mother Stephanie (Kendrick), the type of PTA warrior who over-volunteers for every event on the school calendar. After she befriends Emily, a glamorous but mysterious fellow mama at the school (Lively), she asks Stephanie to watch her boy for a playdate — then suddenly disappears. As the search for Emily deepens, Stephanie begins to unravel surprising details about her bestie’s past and present.


What I Liked: 

I enjoyed how casual Emily was about introducing her bisexuality by mentioning a threesome in her confession martini hour with Stephanie. While Emily likes to keep the vlogging mama on the back of her heels, she doesn’t seem to reveal this detail with any shock value. This makes it easier for Stephanie to investigate later when she tracks down the painter of her portrait (and possibly former lover). Emily’s nonchalance is a welcome change of pace from having a big scene or a queer-as-conflict arc. It’s just a fact of her life. Even when Sean later dismisses the story as a fabrication, he doesn’t employ any bi-erasure into the mix to further bury the lie (though personally I wouldn’t be surprised with these characters that another version of the story happened — due to Sean loving how exciting Emily is, and Emily’s orientation).

And even if there was any doubt, we glimpse a brief make-out session with Stephanie and Emily that obliterates any bi dismissal. I also appreciated how gentle Emily’s comfort kiss was for Stephanie, even if it was brief and halted in its tracks. It was a surprising change for the scene in question, but it didn’t seem out of character for Emily. She seems genuinely curious about Stephanie and how she ticks — and is apparently attracted to the high-strung vlogger.

Image of Stephanie and Emily, dressed elegantly talking together on a couch with martinis in their hands.
Image/Lionsgate

What I Didn't Like: 

Let’s not mince words: “Emily” (real name: Faith) is a murderer and a pretty remorseless one. She may have been cornered and blackmailed by her sister, but she still deliberately drowned the woman. I kind of hate seeing this because while the whole movie is supremely entertaining (and pulls off a neat trick of doing a Gone Girl-esque thriller without taking itself seriously), it’s still hard to see this trope alive and kicking. With all the great breadth of bi representation hitting the streaming channels and broadcast television, I had hoped we were starting to put this tired Basic Instinct-esque stereotype to rest.

I will cop ignorance, however. Maybe there is more about Emily’s sexuality in the novel this flick was based on, and something got lost in translation. Screen adaptations are an entirely different animal than novels, and often crucial parts of character development or background get thrown to the wayside for plot expediency. I guess I’ll have to read the book to find out if that’s the case. But if not, and this is an added element for flavor, someone has a lot of explaining to do.

Image of Stephanie and Emily, looking worried in side by side, drinking their martini's quickly.
Image/Lionsgate

The Rating:

Honestly, I’m a bit torn on this one. Emily is a well-developed antagonist — smart, driven, darkly funny, glamorous, and clever. She even shows moments of unexpected tenderness. But she’s, you know... also sororicidal. We already have a problematic bi killer stereotype out there. It took us a whole generation to move away from Catherine Trammel. I don’t want to start a whole new generation doing queers dirty again. 

I guess the shortest way to sum this up is; See it for a terribly entertaining, surprising thriller. But it ain’t the best out there as far as positive bi representation.

2.5 Unicorns
Image of Stephanie and another character sitting down together in an office setting. Her friend is on the phone and both look concerned.
Image/Lionsgate

Comments

Facebook Comments