Rewatch Wednesday : Who Is the Biggest Star In A Simple Favor?
Is it Blake Lively, Anna Kendrick, or Costume Designer Renée Ehrlich Kalfus?
I did it again. I had my to-do list on the desk, my phone silenced (not gonna lie, I keep my messages on the laptop for emergency distractions like you all do), and I walked into the kitchen past the TV for a diet coke when… It’s not my fault… the home screen on the TV had a Netflix menu on and the A Simple Favor key art called out to me. LOUDLY. I had the best intentions. But I am physically programmed to watch this damn movie every single time it’s on. What’s that you say? “It wasn’t on, you had to opt to activate it.” To that I say “leave me alone.” It’s a disease and not my fault.
One thing about this film is very interesting… my brain is wiped clean after I view it, so each viewing is brand new to me. Very peculiar and the only movie that is like this for me.
I first saw the film on a plane and you know what they say, emotions are heightened on the plane intensifying the movie experience… well… that IS a thing with me… Travel partners all have their own stories about me embarrassing them by audibly gasping, sobbing, and yelling at the tiny screen before me, and A Simple Favor was no exception. I embarrassed Jayce all the way cross-country swooning over all of the costumes in this film. Blake Lively’s devilishly handsome look(s) in this film are not to be believed. Her performance is heaven… and hell. And those outfits…. I was never a Sex and the City girl or a SJP as Carrie stan, but I guess that how I feel watching Blake move in these costumes is similar to how Carrie stans felt upon seeing that dang tutu.
The director is Paul Feig, you know that part, but let’s look at the real star of this entire production: Renée Ehrlich Kalfus. Let’s start with the men’s suiting. Upon lightning striking Kalfus and Lively, they realized that they would dress Lively in men’s suits just like Paul Feig who wore them all the time.
According to Vanity Fair, Kalfus told Julie Miller in 2018 that Ralph Lauren’s archive closet was the source of Emily’s suits. These suits that Lively rocked evoked an effortless statement of power and put everyone in their place upon first glance. People compare the look to Diane Keaton’s iconic Annie Hall, but come on… Lively is legit scary in these suits. Jaw Dropping. Especially in the martini strip-tease scene which was inspired by the Flashdance scene with the tuxedo…um…outfit.
It’s the walking stick that did me in. My absolute favorite. According to Miller’s Vanity Fair article, Kalfus tells us that “Blake made a spontaneous decision the day she shot the scene to borrow Feig’s own stick, which he brought to set every day.” I mean….
In the article, Kalfus goes on to say “She went right up to Paul and said, ‘I just want to use your walking stick.’ Paul said, ‘You can’t just take a walking stick and walk. You have to know where to place it and walk with it . . . you have to do it properly.’ So they stopped everything to have a walking-stick lesson.”
This was to execute a gangster look and I don’t know why this looked so damn hot and not like Bugsy Malone but that is Kalfus and Lively’s magic.
While the walking stick was my absolute favorite, I absolutely LOVE the meticulous detail of all of the looks. The originality and chic style displayed in the film deserves much more conversation than it receives. Not to mention the script is so damn fun.
Your turn- tell me about your favorite look in A Simple Favor.
…and get ready for A Simple Favor 2…!
Read A Simple Favor (The book the film is adapted from)
More about Renée Ehrlich Kalfus
Source: Julie Miller, A Simple Favor: Blake Lively’s Most Jaw-Dropping Fashion Moments, Vanity Fair, September 14, 2018khttps://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/09/a-simple-favor-movie-style-fashion
First of all you’re hilarious and I’m pretty sure we were once on a plane together where you were in fact watching this and audibly gasping 🤣 I’m equally obsessed with the brilliance of Renee’s costume design and the men’s suiting on Blake. My favorite of them all is the navy pinstripe vest suit with the chain. I would die to wear that!
Love this article!