No Hard Feelings
Jennifer Lawrence is in a new era of her career following a break from acting after a string of flops, becoming a mother, and splitting from her former agency. The last three roles she has taken emphasize her dedication to having fun onscreen and making her own choices. No Hard Feelings continues down this path for her, still playing it safe but with a bit of edge. Audiences have watched Lawrence in serious dramas or big action franchises for years where she hasn’t been able to flex her comedy skills especially physical.
No Hard Feelings follows Madde Barker, an early thirties Montauk local who generates income from being an Uber driver. Barker’s stream of income is halted when her car is repossessed, meaning she must find a car quickly in order to make enough money to keep her childhood home. A Crag list ad compensating a Buick in exchange for dating a 19-year-old for the summer catches her attention. Seeming simple, Maddie takes the job until she meets the socially inept, sheltered Percy making this much more complicated.
Opposite Lawrence, Andrew Barth Feldman plays Percy with a sensitivity that makes his awkwardness extremely believable while also having the right comedic timing. Watching Lawrence confidently through herself at him is uncomfortable but he is able to match her energy. Feldman also allows the smaller moments found in the film to shine as he offers Lawrence a safe space to be vulnerable to learn more about who these characters are.
While this is supposed to be Jennifer Lawrence’s big comedy coming out moment, it is overpowered by the male gaze coming-of-age romance at the center. Mistakenly marketed as a full raunchy hard R comedy, this film is a heart-warming story of adulthood and taking risks as shown through both Percy and Maddie. Their inability to take big risks creates a bond between the two where they end up teaching one another while Maddie aggressively tries to have sex with Percy. A lot of time diving into who these characters are so the audience can root for them during this unconventional situation. It flings out so many different ideas with subtle details for their character journeys but never advances past the main story.
For a raunchy comedy, the comedy feels misplaced most of the time with you waiting for a laughing-out-loud moment that never comes. Following the raunchy comedy formula, absurdist comedic moments typically are included, but they feel like speed bumps to the overall story. Most of its major comedic beats are already edited into the trailer but feel tamer in the final version when the context is given behind the moments.
No Hard Feelings is reminiscent of 80s views on gender and comedy mixed with the charm of the early 2000s rom-com. It is charming with enjoyable performances that hopefully will propel Jennifer Lawrence into more comedies.
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