Review: 'Favor'

Title: FAVOR
Year: 2013
Director: Paul Osborne
Writer: Paul Osborne
Starring: Blayne Weaver, Patrick Day, Jeffrey Combs

I first saw FAVOR when it premiered at the Phoenix Film Festival back in April of 2013. I loved the movie upon that first viewing and was eager to see how it would hold up after a second viewing. Roughly a year and a half later I was able to get that second viewing thanks to Horizon Movies. I’m happy to report that FAVOR is still awesome.

Writer/director Paul Osborne’s FAVOR is a classic tale that we’re all familiar with. Go ask anybody on the street and they can tell you what the difference between a friend and a good friend is. Everyone knows that a friend will help you move and a good friend will help you move a dead body. This is common knowledge, right? If it wasn’t before, it will be now.

Blayne Weaver stars as Kip, a good looking guy who essentially has the perfect life. He’s got a nice house, a good job that makes him a ton of money and a beautiful wife. That’s enough for Kip, however. He’s greedy and wants more so he decides to have an affair with a waitress. That’s all going well until she accidentally dies one night at their motel room.

This puts Kip in a tough spot. He could call the cops and explain it was an accident, which it was. Of course doing that means his wife will find out he was having an affair and his perfect life will probably come crashing down. Kip can’t allow that to happen so he decides to pay a visit to his old friend, Marvin (Patrick Day).

Marvin is the polar opposite of Kip. He’s a down on his luck kind of guy. Life hasn’t been kind to him. He doesn’t have money, he doesn’t have a wife, and he doesn’t have a good job. He looks up to his old childhood friend. He wants what Kip has. So when Kip asks Marvin to get rid of the body, Marvin is more than happy to help. Kip now owes Marvin and Marvin is going to do everything he can to make sure he doesn’t forget that.

FAVOR is a fantastic movie. There’s no other way to put it. It’s a dark thriller with a tight script carried by a terrific cast. Weaver is perfect as the obnoxious, arrogant, better-than-you Kip. And yet as good as Weaver is, he’s completely overshadowed by Patrick Day as Marvin. You really feel for Marvin. He’s just a guy looking for a break and was more than willing to help a friend.

This film is incredibly dark. I mean dark, dark. The stuff that happens is insane. The stuff that happens in FAVOR is that type of stuff that’s so dark that you almost just laugh at it because you can’t believe it. How can any of this be really happening?

If you want to watch a quick paced indie thriller that’s going to leave your jaw firmly placed on the floor, then watch FAVOR. Paul Osborne’s flick won’t let you down.

Rating: 5/5

*FAVOR will be released on DVD July 8, 2014 from Horizon Movies. Pre-Order your copy today: http://www.kinolorber.com/video.php?id=1662