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My Super Bowl Sunday

 I spent Sunday evening alone; this was my first evening alone in approximately two years.

Obviously, the only option was to eat ice cream and watch "A Simple Favor."

You know this one. It's Anna Kendrick as a somewhat repressed widow in suburban Connecticut. She has a young son, and she records a daily "vlog," with "advice for moms." 

A stranger comes to town. It's Blake Lively, and Blake doesn't have Anna's hangups. Blake swears freely (and Anna feels this should lead to a deposit in "the oopsy jar" ....) Blake does not feel compelled to pretend her life is sunnier than it is; she frankly suggests that she is hanging on by a thread. Blake basically "beds" her husband while still in Anna's presence. And Blake delightedly takes in Anna's "never have I ever" confession; this involves Blake gleefully calling Anna "a brotherfucker."

Then Blake disappears. It seems she has dumped her own child on Anna--"free labor"--and departed for a mysterious trip.

At this point, the story shifts gears. Emboldened by her memories of Blake, Anna becomes a sassy detective. She begins dressing down powerful Tom Ford types, calling shadowy figures and using an alias, recording coded messages by means of her "vlog." Nothing is what it seems; as in any good noir film, you're thrown off by four, or five, or six late twists.

I love this movie for passing the Bechdel Test, and for giving Kendrick a chance to be insane for two hours. Also, I love Andrew Rannells, a gay stay-at-home dad, who mocks Anna's vlog but also exposes his own heart of gold when it counts. (Rannells also treats his little toddler as if she were his snarky bestie. At one point, he raises an eyebrow at his toddler, and he says, not unkindly, "What is *your* problem?")

The script has many sharp observations--about....the mom at school who believes *all* parents should own a helium tank. ("It's not that uncommon....") The moment when you have to speak plainly to a frustrating/ed child: "You're not my favorite dinner date either....But now we're going to sit quietly and be miserable together, and watch the grass grow...." The little moments when you know you're something less than effective: "Boys....no run....no....Let's be safe!!!" "Boys....I'll make you strawberry pops after you sit still and don't wrestle in the car....."

I sense that Anna Kendrick could offer maybe fifty different readings for any given sentence--on the spot--and basically each choice would be interesting. Aspirational.

Recommended. Four stars. And this was my Super Bowl Sunday.
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