Netflix's Popular Crime Thriller Movie Is A Reminder To Watch Ben Affleck's 10-Year-Old Mystery Hit That Made $370 Million

Summary A Simple Favor's campy twists and shocking reveals make it a hit on Netflix's Top 10 movie titles.

The thriller pays homage to Gone Girl with similar twists, sparking comparisons among critics and audiences.

A Simple Favor's positive reception sets the stage for its sequel, promising more secrets, twists, and murder.

Paul Feig’s hit 2018 crime thriller, A Simple Favor, is currently a hit on Netflix, which is a reminder to watch another popular mystery movie that it’s often compared to. Based on the 2017 book of the same name, the cast of A Simple Favor is led by Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively as two moms who become close friends, only for the latter to suddenly disappear. The movie includes plenty of campy twists, murder plots, and shocking reveals from the first scene until the very end of A Simple Favor, with the concept also paying homage to various mystery crime thriller films that came before.

After hitting Netflix in May 2024, A Simple Favor has been trending on the streaming service’s Top 10 movie titles, indicating an exciting revival in popularity with viewers. Of course, while A Simple Favor wasn’t a massive box office hit upon release in 2018, the film still fared moderately well with audiences as it earned $97.6 million against an estimated budget of $20 million. The Paul Feig-directed thriller also received mostly positive reviews from audiences and critics alike, highlighting the unique way that A Simple Favor approaches its genre tropes and twists. Still, reviews frequently compare it to a 2014 David Fincher movie, which certainly deserves a watch after seeing A Simple Favor’s twists play out.

A Simple Favor's Twists Share Similarities To David Fincher's Gone Girl (But Way More Campy)

After Seeing A Simple Favor, Make Sure To Watch (Or Rewatch) Gone Girl

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Since the film’s debut in 2018, A Simple Favor has often been compared to Gone Girl, another mystery thriller movie originally based on a book. It isn’t simply the genre tropes that A Simple Favor’s comedic edge parodies, but the twists themselves that share similarities to David Fincher’s Gone Girl movie. The 2014 film was a massive hit, earning Saltburn's Rosamund Pike an Oscar nomination for her iconic portrayal of Amy Dunne while also making $369.3 million at the box office (via Box Office Mojo). Even for those who had already read the book prior to seeing Gone Girl, the movie’s twists and villainous reveals established it as one of the greatest thrillers of the 2010s.

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The basic set-up for Gone Girl’s story sees Amy Dunne suddenly go missing, with the initial aftermath of her disappearance largely being seen through the eyes of her husband Nick (Ben Affleck), who becomes the main suspect in her potential murder case, and entries from her diary. About halfway through the movie, it’s revealed that Amy is alive and planned her own disappearance so that she could vengefully frame Nick for her death, with the entries in her diary being written in a way to put more suspicion onto him. But, by Gone Girl’s ending, Amy returns home (after killing her ex-boyfriend) and manipulates Nick into staying with her and keeping her secret by revealing she’s pregnant.

Related Gone Girl Complete Timeline (In Chronological Order) From Amy's disappearance to Nick's suspicious shed, the events of Gone Girl get pretty complicated in the movie's complex nonlinear story timeline.

Consequently, it’s not difficult to understand why A Simple Favor’s twists received so many comparisons to Gone Girl. Both films start with a mysterious wife suddenly going missing, only to reveal that she faked her disappearance and left her husband as the main suspect in her “murder.” A Simple Favor adds in a unique dynamic with Emily and Stephanie’s friendship, but maintain many of the same narrative beats and layers to the twists. Of course, A Simple Favor’s mystery thriller distinguishes itself with its campy humor and exaggerations, whereas Gone Girl’s twists and reveals are played with a more earnest tone.

A Simple Favor’s mystery thriller distinguishes itself with its campy humor and exaggerations, whereas Gone Girl’s twists and reveals are played with a more earnest tone.

Gone Girl & A Simple Favor Received Similar Reviews From Critics & Audiences

Both Movies Have "Certified Fresh" Scores From Critics On Rotten Tomatoes

Custom image by Yailin Chacon.

While Gone Girl fared better with awards and genre influence, both movies received similar levels of acclaim from critics and audiences. Standing out as one of David Fincher’s best movies, Gone Girl holds a “Certified Fresh” 87% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, which is the iconic director’s third-highest score on the review aggregator site. Uniquely, given there are over 100,000 ratings to account for its score on the site, Gone Girl also has an 87% score from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, indicating general agreement from critics and viewers.

Movie Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score Worldwide Box Office Gone Girl (2014) 87% 87% $369.3 million A Simple Favor (2018) 84% 73% $97.6 million

Even with a similar premise, A Simple Favor has won over critics and audiences alike with comparable scores to the high-ranking Ben Affleck movie on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie holds a “Certified Fresh” 84% score from critics, with a slightly lower rating from audiences at 73% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, A Simple Favor’s reviews differ in one of the biggest reasons for its positive reception, as critics note how “fun” the movie is with its twists, turns, and hilariously campy lines. Gone Girl’s character twists and motivations are much darker, and while still highly entertaining, the movie isn’t widely remembered for being a “fun” watch.

Related Who Was Miles' Real Father In A Simple Favor? A Simple Favor left a couple of questions, among them one that involves Stephanie, her darkest secret, and the identity of her son's father.

A Simple Favor 2 Can Double Down On The Movie's Gone Girl Comparisons

A Simple Favor 2 Can Pay Homage To More Gone Girl Twists

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While there were initially talks of a potential Gone Girl follow-up, there actually is a confirmed A Simple Favor 2 movie already in production. The sequel to the 2018 thriller is set to bring back Emily, Stephanie, and Sean as Blake Lively’s character gets re-married in Europe, but the wedding turns into an event full of secrets, twists, and murder. With a new husband in the mix for A Simple Favor’s sequel, it seems likely that the upcoming movie will make its Gone Girl comparisons more noticeable if Emily’s fiancé is framed for a crime.

Gone Girl (2014) is available to stream on Apple TV+.

Sources: Box Office Mojo, Rotten Tomatoes