MOVIE TIP

A Simple Favor

For, oh, about ¾ of the running time, I really enjoyed this darkly comic thriller. Director Paul Feig balances the elements expertly during the bulk of the film, as a perky single mom (Anna Kendrick, giving her typical but, in this case, appropriate performance) tries to find a fellow missing mom — a chic, enigmatic creature with a distinct whiff of danger about her (Blake Lively, showing what a talented actress she really is). But then the wheels come off. There are too many twists, and some of those twists might make you roll your eyes. By the end, the whole thing slides into broad comedy territory.