![]() ![]() While overstuffed, "White Boy Rick" does give McConaughey a chance to act as anchor, deftly portraying his desperation for the American Dream while keeping his family together in the only way he knows how. Merrit, found at a Detroit casting call, isn't quite up to the emotional heights necessary for us to care about him but fares better when he's required to swagger around the screen. Newcomer Merrit and McConaughey have great chemistry. They're often entertaining - particularly in the case of the grandparents - or unexpectedly touching - Powley nicely portrays Dawn's fragility and descent into addiction - but feel like after thoughts in an already busy movie. There's a lot going on in "White Boy Rick." The main thrust of the story, Jr.'s rise and fall, is muddied by the addition of side characters. Arrested for drug possession of an enormous amount of cocaine, the feds drop him like a hot potato and he is sentenced to thirty years behind bars. His run comes to a sudden end when he becomes a victim of the war on drugs. The teenager takes the deal and soon is dealing cocaine and rolling in cash. If he snitches on local drug dealers, they say, the feds will leave his father's operation alone. is convinced to become an undercover agent for the FBI. is a small time dealer in illegal guns with aspirations of one day opening up a legit business. ![]() Despite the newly launched "Just Say No to Drugs" campaign, crack is everywhere, seducing many in his neighbourhood. (Matthew McConaughey),and older sister Dawn (Bel Powley) across the street from his grandparents (Bruce Dern and Piper Laurie) in 1980s Detroit. White Boy Rick, lives with his father Rick Sr. A new film, "White Boy Rick," details his rise and terrible tumble.ġ4-year-old Wershe Jr. As a teenage FBI informant he lived the high life before it all came crashing down. lived twenty lives all before the time he could legally have a drink. The interplay between the characters remains enjoyable but as they become increasingly unreliable narrators the story feels convoluted and stretched. Trouble is, it takes too long to get where it is going. Motivations shift and the twists pile up as the plot takes a darker tone. From there "A Simple Favor" becomes a maze of good and bad intentions, fake outs, incest and gaslighting. "The nicest thing I could do for Nikki," she says, "is blow my brains out." Their friendship always seemed unconventional but Emily's frankness hints at what is to come. Despite living in a grand home with all the amenities she's on the verge of bankruptcy. She loves her son Nikki, but money woes occupy her mind. Her candor puts Stephanie and the audience off balance. By comparison Lively is an exotic beast, decked out in designer clothes and perfectly tousled mane of blonde hair. Kendrick is wide eyed and naive, with just a hint of the darkness that may lie beneath her perfectly manicured soccer mom exterior. The opening scenes of the friendship building between the two women sparkle. Feig gets great performances from Kendrick and Lively but is a bit too leisurely in getting into the meat of the matter. There are missing bodies and other comparisons to "A Simple Favor" but the similarities end there. Midway through, Stephanie asks, "Are you trying to Diabolique me?" It's a call back to a 1955 psychological thriller that saw terrible people plan a murder while maintaining a perfect alibi. ![]() "Secrets are like margarine," Steph says, "easy to spread but bad for the heart."įrom here the film deep dives into a twisty-turny story of intrigue, misplaced love and insurance scams. As she struggles to find closure and poke around in the corners of Emily's life she discovers her friend wasn't quite the person she thought she was. Trouble is, Emily disappears into the great wide open, leaving Stephanie stuck with a child and grieving husband (Henry Golding). ![]() When Emily asks Stephanie for the "simple favour," of picking her son up after school, the eager mom agrees. The pair bond almost immediately despite Emily's warning, "You do not want to be friends with me, trust me." With Emily she discovers the pleasures of pouring a martini in the afternoon as a "reset" for the day. Stephanie is lonely, a widow who pours herself into work and her son's life. When she meets Emily (Blake Lively), the blunt talking mother of her son's schoolmate, she is smitten. She's a keener, a food vlogger who is always the first to volunteer for everything at her son's school. The labyrinthine plot begins with Stephanie (Anna Kendrick), the plucky single mom of a young son. The name Paul Feig is closely associated with comedy but with "A Simple Favor" he takes a step away from the laughs to present a story of intrigue and suspense that begins with a friend asking for a little help. ![]()
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