10 Biggest Changes A Simple Favor Makes To The 2017 Book

This article contains mention of murder, suicide, and incest, as well as major spoilers for A Simple Favor (2018).

Summary Stephanie's mommy blog is instead a vlog in the movie version of A Simple Favor, which is essential to the film's final plot twist that isn't present in the book.

Emily and her twin sister burn down their childhood home to kill their abusive father in the movie version of A Simple Favor, which does not happen in the book.

The film adaptation changes the book's open ending by having Emily arrested for murder and sent to prison.

The 2018 comedy crime thriller A Simple Favor makes a lot of changes to the original story from the 2017 book. Directed by Paul Feig, A Simple Favor stars Anna Kendrick as Stephanie Smothers, a widowed single mother whose best friend, Emily Nelson (Blake Lively), goes missing after asking Stephanie to pick her son up from school. When Stephanie starts to suspect that Emily may still be alive, she goes digging into Emily's past and uncovers some shocking secrets her mysterious friend has been keeping. The cast of A Simple Favor also stars Henry Golding as Emily's husband, Sean Townsend.

The true crime structure of Stephanie's vlog may give some viewers the impression that A Simple Favor is based on a true story, but it's actually based on author Darcey Bell's debut fiction novel of the same name. A Simple Favor made some minor changes to the book, such as changing Stephanie's last name from Ward to Smothers and increasing the life insurance payout from $2 million to $4 million. However, the film adaptation also altered and added a lot of details that served to flesh out Emily's backstory and changed the ending of A Simple Favor, among other things.

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Related A Simple Favor 2: Confirmation, Cast & Everything We Know Director Paul Feig's blend of mystery and comedy A Simple Favor was a sleeper hit in 2018, and now a sequel has officially been confirmed.

10 The Movie Has No Narrator & The Story Is Mostly Told From Stephanie's Perspective

The Book Switches From Stephanie's To Emily's To Sean's POV

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In Bell's A Simple Favor book, the story is told from three different perspectives: Stephanie's, Emily's, and Sean's. Part 1 is told from Stephanie's point of view through her blog posts. Part 2 then shifts to Emily's perspective, which provides a lot of insight into her motives and fills in a ton of gaps in the narrative. Part 3 also offers some of Sean's perspective. With all of these different accounts of the same events, the narration in the book is often unreliable.

There is no narrator in the film adaptation of A Simple Favor, and aside from Emily's descriptions of her own flashbacks and a few solo scenes between her and Sean in the present, the story is predominantly seen through Stephanie's eyes. The movie does contain some unreliable narration by having the character's accounts contradict the same events depicted in flashbacks, but unlike the reader of the book, the viewer is always shown or told the whole truth.

9 The Movie Changed Stephanie's Mommy Blog To A Vlog

The Pivot To A Video Format Is Essential To One Of A Simple Favor's Many Plot Twists

In the book, Stephanie chronicles the timeline of Emily's whole disappearance on her "mommy blog," though she is not always entirely honest with her readers about what is going on in real life. The film adaptation of A Simple Favor changed Stephanie's blog to a vlog. She keeps her subscribers updated on Emily's disappearance in her recipe videos. It made sense to change Stephanie's online presence to a vlog, since the video medium is much better suited to film.

Stephanie reveals that one of her buttons is a nanny cam that is livestreaming to her subscribers at that very moment, meaning Emily's murder confession was aired online.

This shift to video also allowed for a major plot twist at the end of A Simple Favor that doesn't happen in the book. After Emily admits to Stephanie and Sean that she killed her father and sister, she shows them that she cut the mics the police planted in the house so her confession wasn't recorded. However, Stephanie reveals that one of her buttons is a nanny cam that is livestreaming to her subscribers at that very moment, meaning Emily's murder confession was aired online.

8 Stephanie Doesn't Confess That Her Son's Real Father Is Her Half-Brother In The Movie

Stephanie Had An Incestuous Relationship With Her Half-Brother Chris In A Simple Favor

The question of who Stephanie's son Miles' father is in A Simple Favor is left unanswered in the film adaptation. After previously revealing that her husband Davis and half-brother Chris died in a car crash, Stephanie explains to Emily that she met Chris at her father's funeral in high school and confesses that they kissed. Emily suspects they went further and actually slept together, which Stephanie never verbally confirms to Emily, but her memories confirm to the viewer.

Davis confronts Stephanie about her visibly inappropriate relationship with her half-brother. He then asks her if Miles is even his son, insinuating that Chris fathered him instead.

Later, there's a flashback to the afternoon before Chris and Davis died, in which Davis confronts Stephanie about her visibly inappropriate relationship with her half-brother. He then asks her if Miles is even his son, insinuating that Chris fathered him instead. Emily later asks Stephanie the same thing but she deflects from the question. However, in the book, Emily records Stephanie confessing that Chris is Miles' biological father and later uses the footage to blackmail her.

7 The Painting Is Different & Plays A Much Bigger Role In The Movie

There Is A Painting Of Twins In The Book Instead

In the book, Stephanie notices a painting of twins at Emily's house, which Emily claims was painted by a famous artist. This painting was merely symbolic as it foreshadowed the eventual reveal that Emily had a secret twin sister. The film adaptation of A Simple Favor changed the painting to a nude portrait of Emily that she claims was painted by an "almost famous" artist from the East Village who became obsessed with her. Emily stole the painting in hopes that it would one day be valuable enough to sell, but the painter never made it big.

It's through Diana that Stephanie finds out that Emily used to go to Squaw Lake Bible Camp (which does not exist in the book) in Michigan, which serves as a stepping stone to discovering that she has a twin sister.

After "Emily's" body is found, Stephanie tracks down the artist, a woman named Diana Hyland (Linda Cardellini), and asks her about Emily, who went by her middle name Claudia back then. It's through Diana that Stephanie finds out that Emily used to go to Squaw Lake Bible Camp (which does not exist in the book) in Michigan, which serves as a stepping stone to discovering that she has a twin sister. None of this happens in the book.

6 Emily & Her Twin Sister's Birth Names & Backstory Are Different In The Movie

The Twins Never Burn Down Their Childhood Home Nor Kill Their Father In The Book

When Stephanie visits the bible camp in the film adaptation of A Simple Favor, she discovers that Emily not only has a twin sister named Faith, but that her real name is actually Hope McLanden, not Emily Nelson. After a visit with Emily's mother Margaret (Jean Smart), Stephanie finds out that the twins burned down their house as teenagers, which killed their father. Flashbacks later confirm that this was an intentional act of arson to escape their father's abuse.

Emily does have a secret twin sister in Bell's novel, but the two of them never set their childhood home on fire to kill their father.

After she and her sister split up to avoid police detection, Hope McLanden moved to New York and eventually changed her name to Emily Nelson to make it harder for the authorities to find her. This is also why Emily does not like having her photo taken or posted on social media in the movie.

However, virtually none of this happens in the book. Emily does have a secret twin sister in Bell's novel, but the two of them never set their childhood home on fire to kill their father. In the book, the twins' birth names are just Emily and Evelyn Nelson, not Hope and Faith McLanden. Since she was never running from the law, Emily never had to change her name.

Related A Simple Favor Review: Anna Kendrick & Blake Lively Shine in Paul Feig's Thriller A Simple Favor is a delightfully twisty psychological thriller with compelling performances, and much of Paul Feig's humor, but little substance.

5 Emily & Her Twin Have A Third Sister Who Was Stillborn In The Movie

Emily & Her Twin's Matching Tattoos Were Changed In The Movie To Honor Their Sister

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In the film adaptation of A Simple Favor, Stephanie meets up with Emily at "her" grave to confront her about her secret twin sister. Emily corrects her and reveals that she is actually a triplet and that she and Faith had a third sister named Charity who was stillborn. Before going their separate ways after the fire, Hope and Faith got matching tattoos on their left wrists. They each got a ring of fire and a charity symbol in honor of their stillborn sister.

While Emily and her sister do have matching tattoos in both versions of A Simple Favor, their ink was changed to incorporate their expanded backstory in the movie, including Charity's existence.

In the book, there is no mention of Emily and her twin having a third sister who was stillborn. The reveal that Emily was actually a triplet was added to the movie. While Emily and her sister do have matching tattoos in both versions of A Simple Favor, their ink was changed to incorporate their expanded backstory in the movie, including Charity's existence. In the book, Emily and Evelyn get crown of thorn tattoos after a fight about Evelyn's drug use.

4 A Simple Favor Changes The Circumstances Of Emily's Twin Sister's Death (& Emily's Role In It)

Emily's Twin Sister Doesn't Blackmail Her In The Book

After splitting up as teenagers in the film adaptation of A Simple Favor, Emily doesn't hear from Faith for 14 years until she suddenly contacts her on Facebook, asking to see her. They meet up at their old bible camp where Faith does heroin before threatening to tell the police that they deliberately started the house fire that killed their father. Faith blackmails Emily into agreeing to give her $1 million in exchange for her silence.

Emily initially claims that her sister took her own life by drowning herself in the lake, but the flashbacks show Emily holding Faith's head under the water until she stops breathing to keep her from turning them in. It's only after her sister is dead that Emily gets the idea to fake her death and collect her life insurance money by making Faith's dead body appear to be hers.

When Evelyn changes her mind about taking her own life, Emily gets her drunk which indirectly leads to her death, but she doesn't kill her sister herself.

Emily's sister is also a heroin addict in the book, but unlike Faith in the movie, Evelyn is actually suicidal. She asks Emily to meet her at their family cabin instead, where she plans to take her own life. Emily was already planning to fake her death at this point, and realizes she can use Evelyn's real death to her advantage. However, when Evelyn changes her mind about taking her own life, Emily gets her drunk which indirectly leads to her death, but she doesn't kill her sister herself.

3 Sean Isn't In On Any Part Of Emily's Plan In The Movie

Sean Helped Emily Plan The Initial Insurance Fraud In The Book

Although Emily tries to convince Stephanie otherwise, Sean is completely clueless about Emily's entire scheme in the film adaptation of A Simple Favor. He genuinely believes that his wife went missing and was found dead and has no idea about the insurance fraud. It's not until Stephanie starts digging into Emily's past, which prompts Emily to show up again and explain her whole scheme to him, that Sean finds out about everything.

Once Stephanie has ruined her plan by exposing the existence of her twin, Emily decides to pin everything on Sean. She seemingly convinces Stephanie that it was all Sean's idea and that he never loved Stephanie. It then appears as though Emily and Stephanie have teamed up to frame Sean, but it turns out that Stephanie was just playing along. In reality, she and Sean were working with the police to set Emily up by staging a fake shooting to get Emily to confess to killing her father and sister and clear Sean's name.

Unlike in the movie, though, Emily successfully convinces Stephanie that Sean is abusive and forced her into the insurance scam in the book.

In the book, Sean isn't totally in the dark about Emily's whole scheme. The couple concoct the plan to fake her death together so they can collect her life insurance money. However, just like in the movie, he doesn't know about her long-lost twin sister, so when what appears to be her dead body is found, he believes it's Emily. Unlike in the movie, though, Emily successfully convinces Stephanie that Sean is abusive and forced her into the insurance scam in the book. They gang up on Sean and threaten to expose him together.

2 Emily Doesn't Murder An Insurance Agent In The Movie

A Simple Favor Omitted A Whole Murder From The Book

In the book, the insurance agent investigating Emily's claim shows up to tell Sean he suspects Emily's body may actually be her twin sister's, much to Sean's surprise. Emily and Stephanie later meet with this agent who has caught on to Emily's fraudulent scheme, and Emily kills him with a hypodermic needle. Emily puts the agent's body in his car and places some of Sean's hair inside to frame him for the murder. She makes Stephanie help her dispose of the body by pushing the car off the cliff.

Although there is an insurance agent who finds out about Emily's twin sister and thus derails her plan in the movie, she is a woman and Stephanie contacts her to inform her about Faith. Emily doesn't kill the insurance agent in the movie, though, and thus, doesn't try to frame Sean for this murder.

1 The Movie Ties Up The Book's Open Ending

Emily Frames Sean And Stephanie For Murder & Escapes With Her Son In The Book

The book ends with the police finding Emily's ring inside the dead insurance agent's car. Emily manipulates the cops into believing that the ring belongs to Stephanie and that the evidence proves that Stephanie and Sean must be responsible for the murder. The book doesn't reveal if they ever go to prison for the murder of the insurance agent, but Emily manages to escape the country with her son Nicky using fake passports.

Emily is shown playing basketball in prison, where she has been sentenced to 20 years.

In the movie, Emily shoots Sean and confesses to murdering her father and sister on Stephanie's livestream. After she gets hit by a car (which doesn't happen in the book), the police show up and arrest Emily. A Simple Favor ends with title cards revealing that Stephanie's vlog is being turned into a daily morning show and that Sean finally wrote another book and is living with Nicky. Emily is shown playing basketball in prison, where she has been sentenced to 20 years.