Movie Review: ‘No Hard Feelings’

What’s the story of ‘No Hard Feelings’?

(L to R) Maddie (Jennifer Lawrence) and Gary (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) in Columbia Pictures’ ‘No Hard Feelings.’

Lawrence right here performs Maddie Barker, a lifelong resident of Montauk, Long Island. Frustrated by the modifications wrought by rich outsiders selecting the place to spend the summer season, she’s additionally frightened about her personal monetary troubles: her property taxes have tripled and he or she’s in peril of shedding the house left to her by her late mom.

Maddie can also be one thing of a large number –– after a string of failed relationships and hookups with native losers and visiting males, she’s now misplaced her automobile (repossessed by certainly one of her exes, a tow-truck driver performed by ‘The Bear’s Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who has a contract with the native authorities), which allowed her to drive Uber. That, together with a job at an area bar, was key to her earnings.

She thinks she’s discovered the reply to her cash issues when she discovers an intriguing job itemizing: rich helicopter mother and father on the lookout for somebody to “date” their introverted 19-year-old son, Percy (Feldman), and convey him out of his shell earlier than he leaves for school.

But awkward, animal/anime-loving Percy proves to be extra of a problem than she anticipated, and time is operating out earlier than she loses all of it.

Who else is within the forged of No Hard Feelings’?

(L to R) Laird (Matthew Broderick) and Allison (Laura Benanti) in Columbia Pictures’ ‘No Hard Feelings.’

Around the central pair, the forged consists of Laura Benanti and Matthew Broderick as Percy’s nervy mother and father, Allison and Laird, Natalie Morales and Scott MacArthur as Maddie’s finest mates Sara and Jim, a pair anticipating their first baby however experiencing their very own cash wobbles, Kyle Mooney as Jody, a male nanny with a connection to Percy, Hasan Minhaj as native realtor (and former highschool classmate of Maddie) Doug Kahn, and Jordan Mendoza as Crispin, Percy’s co-worker at an area animal shelter.

Does ‘No Hard Feelings’ provoke the precise feelings?

(L to R) Jennifer Lawrence and Director Gene Stupnitsky on the set of Columbia Pictures’ ‘No Hard Feelings.’

Co-written by director Gene Stupnitsky with John Phillips (who beforehand labored with him as a producer on 2019’s ‘Good Boys’), the movie goals to be a mix of ‘The Sure Thing’, ‘The Hangover’, although leaning extra in direction of the heartfelt nature of the previous.

And for a piece of the movie, that mixture works, carried by the allure of the leads. Though primarily based on an actual advert that Stupnitsky was despatched by Marc Provissiero and Naomi Odenkirk, issued by mother and father on the lookout for somebody to present their awkward son some life expertise, the movie spins that right into a knockabout comedy of errors.

Yet when it pivots right into a extra emotional story and Maddie and Percy develop to be nearer mates, it nonetheless manages to make the plot work. Maddie’s previous comes into play, and we study that Percy is extra worldly than he may need appeared.

The performing

Maddie (Jennifer Lawrence) in Columbia Pictures’ ‘No Hard Feelings.’

Lawrence, although she has not often had the possibility to indicate it on display, is a profitable comedy actor, and with ‘No Hard Feelings’, she completely throws herself into the function of Maddie, a kind-hearted but broken younger lady whose immaturity belies some sophisticated household historical past.

The actor has performed troubled individuals earlier than, albeit often to extra severe impact, however off-screen has proved herself to be very humorous, self-deprecating and prepared to decide to a bit.

All that feeds properly into the character of Maddie, who’s put by way of fairly the wringer on this film –– Percy sprays mace in her face after their first assembly when he suspects she’s kidnapping him, she finally ends up punched in a really delicate spot whereas combating thieves stark bare on a seaside and choking after a drunken Percy by chance hits her within the throat. And these are just some of the indignities.

Yet she navigates all of it with relatable emotion, her dramatic background additionally kicking in when Maddie reveals extra about her life to Percy. Feldman, in the meantime, is ready to play all the degrees that the function gives, from gawky teen to extra delicate younger man. And although it leans on some cliches in each instances, they’re not sufficient to derail the film.

Feelings getting harm

Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman) in Columbia Pictures’ ‘No Hard Feelings.’

Related Article: Andrew Barth Feldman Talks ‘No Hard Feelings’ 

Not every part works, although –– Morales and McArthur are ok to warrant their very own spin-off (and Morales specifically can spin a sarcastic line supply like few others) and should make do with supporting roles.

Benanti and Broderick, in the meantime, do strong work as Percy’s mother and father, although they’re additionally barely reined in in comparison with the leads. Not the entire jokes land, some seeming so goofy that they harm the tone of the film (one specifically, involving a automobile, some hearth and a seaside feels so torturous for one of many characters that it’s a marvel they’re not in hospital –– and the driving force in jail).

And if the burden is on this film to carry the R-rated comedy out of the doldrums, it may not fully be as much as the duty, with some facet plots (equivalent to Percy’s connection to a former carer) largely going nowhere and never as humorous because the filmmakers clearly assume they’re. Some even handed modifying (even with a comparatively lean 143-minute operating time) may also have improved issues.

Still, ‘No Hard Feelings,’ whereas it attracts extra sedate laughs than enormous viewers reactions, is humorous sufficient and finds a strong coronary heart to maintain you entertained on a couple of degree. And that’s one thing the likes of ‘The Hangover’ not often managed. Plus, if it means Jennifer Lawrence is ready to make extra comedies in future, all the higher.

‘No Hard Feelings’ receives 6.5 out of 10 stars.

Director Gene Stupnitsky’s ‘No Hard Feelings’ is scheduled for launch on June 23, 2023.

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‘No Hard Feelings’ is produced by Excellent Cadaver and Sony Pictures. It is about to launch in theaters on June twenty third, 2023.