Watching the trailers, I was not sure what to expect from No Hard Feelings, the new Jennifer Lawrence-fronted comedy. Marketed as a raunchy throwback to films of the mid-2000s, it played heavily into the sex jokes and suggestive elements, with those key moments played up in all the ads and trailers. Yet, behind it all, No Hard Feelings managed to surprise with a mix of crude humour, strong characters and plenty of heart, thanks to the film’s leads.
The film follows Maddie (Lawrence), a woman who finds herself in hard times when her home taxes jump due to the influx of new people in her small seaside town. Having hit rock bottom, and with her car now seized, she decides to answer a Craigslist list ad that promises a car to the person who can “date” their 19-year-old son Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman) before he heads to college.
With setup in hand, ingeniously defying age stereotypes, Maddie becomes the eccentric rent-a-girlfriend for introverted Percy. Their orchestrated meet-cute at Percy’s summer job—an animal shelter—is rife with comedic mishaps. This unlikely duo hilariously highlights a generational chasm, with Maddie’s bewildered quips about Percy’s temperate Gen Z habits becoming a recurring, albeit overdone, gag. Despite his apprehensions, Percy is ironically drawn to Maddie’s ‘Maneater’ persona, setting the stage for a comically convoluted summer of self-discovery and saucy movie magic.
“No Hard Feelings managed to surprise with a mix of crude humour, strong characters and plenty of heart, thanks to the film’s leads.”
It sounds like a gender-swapped movie many would have seen lining the walls of the video rental shops of the 80s and 90s. The premise may be ridiculous, but director Gene Stupnitsky manages to make something well worth the time, with more depth than the name and premise suggest. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of sex gags, raunchy moments, and gross-out moments, but it also manages to present believable, if not broken, people.
Most of the credit for the movie working lands on the performance of Jennifer Lawrence. She captures the feeling of a woman who has been hurt in the past and now wants to avoid any significant human connection. Ranging from hostile to selfish, Lawrence crafts a portrait of a woman who wants nothing more than to have fun and let the world go on without her.
The scenes where Maddie is trying to seduce Percy and uncomfortable yet fantastic, the way they capture her frustration in the face of a young man still scared to make any connection beyond the ones he knows online. It is the most awkward back-and-forth romance you will intentionally see at the theatres this year, and that uncomfortable feeling is what makes it all work.
“No Hard Feelings works because it strikes a fantastic balance between the raunchy sex comedy and a story about real human connection.”
While Maddie consistently tries to be seductive, it is not until she opens up and lets Percy in that there is a genuine connection, and while not as sexually charged as intended, it works on a much deeper level. These are two deeply flawed people, and it is in each other they find the strength to make the hard choices.
Throughout the tender moments that feel incredibly human, plenty of moments remind you, No Hard Feelings is a comedy, first and foremost. The movie does a brilliant job of playing with expectations and flipping what we normally expect from a movie of this style. While usually, the 19-year-old would want nothing more than to have sex with an attractive older woman, here, he throws that concept out the window, leaving Maddie to fill that role.
No Hard Feelings manages to hit all the normal beats we expect from a movie like this, from irrelevant car shenanigans to an after-prom party. And even though the movie is treading well-worn ground here, No Hard Feelings manages to play it all freshly and excitingly, making it all work and even managing some fantastic callbacks in the process.
Ultimately, No Hard Feelings works because it strikes a fantastic balance between a raunchy sex comedy and a story about real human connection. The film is far more sentimentally-driven than wildly raunchy. Instead of taking a Licorice Pizza-like route, the film centers on Maddie and Percy’s evolving camaraderie, defined by resolute goals and incorrigible awkwardness. Though the film’s transition into emotional depth feels a bit clumsy, this pivot imbues a raw charm into the narrative, making the viewing experience heartwarming.
