Greetings again from the darkness. Director Paul Feig hit it big with the outrageous comedy BRIDESMAIDS in 2011, and then he got a lot more interesting as a filmmaker by directing screen adaptations of Darcey Bell novels that were so popular with Book Clubs – A SIMPLE FAVOR (2018) and ANOTHER SIMPLE FAVOR (2025). There’s no need to mess with a good thing, right? This time he’s directing another Book Club favorite, Frieda McFadden’s 2022 novel. Adapted for the screen by Rebecca Sonnenshine, the movie subjects three gorgeous actors to some off-the-chart twisted and devious turns.
Sydney Sweeney stars as Millie, a young parolee who we see arrive at a stunning mansion (fabricated resume in hand) to interview for a live-in housemaid position. Amanda Seyfried is Nina, the lady of the house, and she has prepared a lovely charcuterie board for the interview before taking Millie on a tour of the place … including the attic room where Millie will be living as she cleans the house, does some light cooking, and sometimes cares for ice-cold young daughter, Cece (Indiana Elle). Millie sleeps in her car until the phone rings with Nina’s job offer.
Now, Nina was the dreamboat perfect host and potential employer during the first meeting, but upon Millie’s arrival, her temperament has shifted – full bore psychotic mood shifts, replete with throwing dishes, screaming, and false accusations. Of course, Millie must take the abuse and uncertainty or face serving out the rest of her prison sentence – the details come out much later in the film. Still, Millie might just crack if not for the calm, supportive nature of Nina’s rich male model-type husband, Andrew (Brandon Sklenar, MIDWAY, 2019).
Common sense would tell you that the crazy wife vs the desperate housemaid would be enough for a wild story, but oh, how wrong you would be. Things only get crazier from here, and if we’ve learned one thing sitting through bizarre movies, it’s that the best way to execute a preposterous and outlandish story line is to play it (mostly) straight. And that’s what we get here. Of course, many of the twists and turns are easy to predict, but that doesn’t cut down on the demented fun – even though it jumps the shark a bit.
It’s a fun, wild ride – despite the gaps and the unfortunate lack of substance for supporting characters like Elizabeth Perkins as Andrew’s mother, and Michele Morrone as Enzo the groundskeeper. More from either character would have been welcome, although the real star here is Amanda Seyfried who shows incredible range, and never once backs away from the psycho side. I haven’t read the book, but for those who have, this film version is more spicy than erotic (save for one hotel scene), and it easily qualifies as a guilty pleasure – especially for those book clubs out there.
Opens in theaters beginning December 19, 2025
Posted by David Ferguson 
Greetings again from the darkness. We should all be so fortunate to have a friend as loyal as Leslie, and we should strive to be wiser than Kate so that we don’t ever have the need to test that friend’s loyalty. Director Michael Pearce (ENCOUNTER, 2021) is working with a script from screenwriter Brad Ingelsby (the excellent “Mare of Easttown”, OUT OF THE FURNACE, 2018), and a superb cast to deliver a thriller that offers both familiar territory and twists and turns in a film that is ultimately relatively entertaining to watch.
Movie Reviews from the Dark 