With four Academy Award nominations and one win (for ‘Silver Linings Playbook’) under her belt, ‘a hard-R teen comedy’ No Hard Feelings’ is not the first place you might expect to find Jennifer Lawrence.
Inspired by an actual 2013 Craigslist ad, Lawrence stars as Maddie. She is a young thirtysomething struggling to keep it together in Montauk, New York. When the government starts knocking to collect back taxes on the house she inherited from her late mother, Maddie takes a local couple up on an unusual offer.
Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman) is a socially awkward teenager who has grown up coddled and comfortable. He has so experience with dating or sex. His desperate parents (Matthew Broderick and Laura Benanti) take out a Craigslist ad looking for a woman to show him the ropes before he heads off to Princeton for college.
The Verdict
There really isn’t anything in Jennifer Lawrence’s filmography to indicate she had this kind of raucous comedy in her. Sure, she was elicited laughs out of ‘SIlver Linings Playbook,’ but her overall career has been pretty serious. It’s surprising that after taking two years off to have a child that she read this script from Gene Stupnitsky and John Phillips and said THAT’S FOR ME. But, honestly, we’re so lucky that she did.
Teen sex comedies used to be commonplace in theaters, but prior to this had kind of died off. ‘No Hard Feelings’ manages to ride the line between raunchy and heartwarming, much like Stupnitsky’s previous film ‘Good Boys,’ The cast is rounded out with the comic talents of Kyle Mooney, Natalie Morales, Hasan Minhaj, and ‘The Bear’ star, Ebon Moss-Bachrach.
In doing promotion, Lawrence told a reporter, “Everybody in some sense will be offended by this film — you’re welcome.” She’s not wrong. One of the most surprising and hysterical scenes involves a fully nude (and protracted) fight scene on a beach. Nothing can prepare you for how ridiculous it really is, but it’s funny as hell.
If you go into the movie accepting the uncomfortably inappropriate premise, you may be pleasantly surprised at how this questionable idea plays out. ‘No Hard Feelings’ is an aggressively funny and gloriously dumb movie that is bolstered by the lead performances and the chemistry between them. Press play on this when you’re looking to turn your brain off and just laugh.
Grade: B
How to Watch ‘No Hard Feelings
‘No Hard Feelings’ is now available to buy or rent on Blu-ray and DVD. It can also be purchased or rented from all digital providers. Due to SONY’s current output deal with Netflix, you can expect it to begin streaming there later this fall.
Looking for more viewing recommendations? Check out our September 2023 streaming preview!
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