Jennifer Lawrence dips her toes into the world of humor, leading the R-rated adult comedy, No Hard Feelings. Lawrence has done it all. She has been a sci-fi fantasy hero in The Hunger Games, a superhero in the X-Men franchise, and starred in weighty, award-winning dramas. It makes sense that Lawrence continues challenging herself by taking on what is arguably the most difficult genre to achieve success. Can Lawrence do enough heavy lifting to take this comedy across the finish line?
What’s it About?
Maddie (Jennifer Lawrence) is a lifelong resident of Montauk, a small beachfront town that is a favorite summer vacation spot for the rich. Maddie is in her early 30s and seems to let time pass her by in the town. She has difficulty with intimate relationships and often ghosts guys who develop feelings for her.
Maddie makes ends meet by doing odd jobs. Driving for Uber and bartending at a beachfront bar seems enough to keep things afloat. But things turn for the worse when the government notifies Maddie of years of back taxes. The idea of losing her home to the state is unacceptable, as it is her last memory of her late mother. To compound her misfortunes, her primary source of income, her car, is repossessed. Now Maddie is desperate; she must raise the tax money before the state seizes her home.
Maddie sees a Craigslist ad for services from Allison (Laura Benanti) and Laird (Matthew Broderick). Allison and Laird are helicopter parents worried about their son Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman) having the social skills needed to succeed in college.
Percy, an awkward teenager who avoids social contact with others, has no experience with women whatsoever. Allison and Laird want to pay someone to “date” their son before he goes to college. (By date, they mean they want someone to take his V-Card). Allison and Laird will award the person who successfully “dates” their son a car, just what she needs to make money and pay off her debts.
Maddie takes the job. She figures she can quickly seduce Percy and claim the car within a day. But Percy is on a whole other level of awkwardness and is oblivious to Maddie’s best moves. Maddie quickly realizes that this job will be more challenging than she could have ever imagined.
My Reaction
Regarding comedy writing and directing, Gene Stupnitsky (Bad Teacher, Good Boys) is no slouch. No Hard Feelings has his trademark humor, often very smart, sometimes shocking, and always heartfelt. No Hard Feelings works well because it doesn’t use the narrative as an excuse to get from gag to gag, which is often what R-Rated comedies are reduced to.
Yes, the comedy is absurdist and can sometimes come from left field, but the characters’ journey anchors the film.
No Hard Feelings is a callback to buddy comedies such as Planes, Automobiles, Tommy Boy, and Shrek. Your two main characters couldn’t be further opposites, where one character is a man-child, and the other is a self-absorbed asshole, but at least has their stuff together. The movie is about the journey of these two characters, both learning something about themselves from each other and experiencing growth that would have never happened without their encounter.
So, is No Hard Feelings slightly formulaic? Most definitely. But the slight twist on our two main characters and their absurd romance elevates the form. You know you have something magical when something as audacious as a parent-purchased sex worker connecting with an 18-year-old virgin has you in your feelings at the end of the story.
If you do not invest in them, you do not invest in any of the comedy surrounding them. There are no laughs if there is no heart.
Much kudos must be given to Jennifer Lawrence, who is asked to carry much of this film’s emotional weight. She creates a character who is wholly unlikeable, despite her desperate situation, and makes you root for them by the end. Likewise, Andrew Barth Feldman is the perfect straight man for Lawrence’s foolishness and insensitivity. It is Feldman and Lawrence’s relationship that holds the film together. If you do not invest in them, you do not invest in any of the comedy surrounding them. There are no laughs if there is no heart.
Going back to Stupnitsky, he and his writing partner John Phillips are pretty good at playing with the form. Usually, the person who has it the most together is the straight man of the comedic duo, but Feldman’s awkward Percy character is on the opposite end of most of the jokes. This change in dynamic brings an additional wit that would be lacking if this was an utterly paint-by-numbers buddy comedy.
Some of the side characters are a bit forgettable. Sometimes, it feels like they are only in scenes because the premise doesn’t allow Maddie and Percy to be together 24/7. Sure, the occasional appearance of Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Hasan Minhaj has its charms, but you want to get back to our two main characters.
Overall Rating
No Hard Feelings is a good time. Jennifer Lawrence nails most of her comedic bits. Andrew Barth Feldman complements everything Lawrence perfectly. Sometimes the shock comedy works; sometimes, it doesn’t. But when it does, it is because your investment in the characters gets you there. It is effortless to make R-Rated comedies a long gag reel. A thin story and empty characters are only there to get you to the next laugh.
And there is nothing wrong with that. I consider many of those comedies classics because the two-hour gag reel works for them. But there is something special when writers and directors don’t cut corners. Fully-realized filmmaking elevates the decent to good and the good to excellent. No Hard Feelings falls in the latter.
