The writer of Another Simple Favor says the film’s queer storylines—including the controversial incest plot—were inspired by the original’s “big gay following.”
Major spoilers ahead for Another Simple Favor.
Directed by Paul Feig, the sequel to 2018’s acclaimed dark comedy A Simple Favor reunites Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively as Stephanie and Emily, who find themselves caught in another web of secrets, lies, and twists—this time at an Italian wedding.
Also starring Andrew Rannells, Bashir Salahuddin, Elizabeth Perkins, Michele Morrone, Elena Sofia Ricci, Henry Golding and Allison Janney, the film has received mixed reviews from both fans and critics, with particular criticism directed at the aforementioned queer incest plot.
In Another Simple Favor, it’s revealed that Charity, the third triplet of the scheming Emily and her late sister Faith, is alive and has been raised by their con artist aunt, Linda (Janney). As if that weren’t shocking enough, it’s uncovered that Charity is a psychopath with a dangerous obsession with Emily, even going so far as to drug and sexually assault her.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, writer Jessica Sharzer revealed that the controversial storyline came to fruition because they “wanted to embrace” the original film’s “big gay following”.
“We wanted to meet those fans and not disappoint them. And so we were looking for opportunities to tell really great stories that also have a queer element to them,” she said.
“There was a wonderful podcast that was completely devoted to the first movie and it was three queer women who were doing A Simple Podcast.
“They were a big reason why we ended up doing a sequel at all because they interviewed the key cast, Paul and me, and it just revived all of our interest in the project and gave Paul the idea to do a sequel.”
Sharzer, who co-wrote Another Simple Favor with Laeta Kalogridis and whose previous credits include The L Word and American Horror Story, continued: “So the queer element of the franchise is baked in as far as we’re concerned to the storytelling and the relationship between Anna and Blake in the movie we see as a love story.
“It may not be a romantic story, but we see it as primarily a love story between two women. It may be twisted, but it is a love story.”
The queer incest storyline in Another Simple Favor follows a similarly controversial plot in the third season of The White Lotus, involving Patrick Schwarzenegger and Sam Nivola as brothers Saxon and Lochlan Ratliff.
While both storylines have been met with humour online, the growing inclusion of queer incest in Hollywood has drawn criticism for potentially conflating queerness with incest, a harmful association that can distort public perception—particularly among viewers unfamiliar with the LGBTQIA+ experience.
When asked how Lively reacted to the incest storyline, Sharzer shared: “I was on strike during a lot of these developments and these conversations, and so I wasn’t part of all of them, but I think Blake really was behind this decision.
“I don’t think it was handed to her without her participation. My sense is that she really embraced it and wanted to do it.”
Another Simple Favor is now streaming on Prime Video.
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