No Hard Feelings
The R-rated studio comedy is a rare sight in theaters these days, particularly in the streaming era. Adult comedies only seem to come from Universal Pictures these days, either genre-bending (“Cocaine Bear,” “Renfield”), mixing kid concepts with a mature twist (the upcoming “Strays”) or banking on a comedian close to Judd Apatow (“Bros”). But a solo vehicle for an A-lister comedian (and not from Universal)? That seemed like a pipe dream. Until Sony and Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence made it raunchy ’80s reality with the self assured R-rated comedy “No Hard Feelings.”
Directed by Gene Stupnitsky (“Good Boys,” co creator of Freevee’s “Jury Duty”) and centered around Maddie Barker (Lawrence), a Montauk-based Uber driver in her early 30s who’s about to go bankrupt, the movie has no right to be as funny as it is. Her car got repossessed by her scorned tow trucker ex Gary (Ebon Moss Bachrach), the house that her late mother left her is about to foreclose and the income from her mundane part-time bartending job at a seafood-themed bar isn’t cutting it. So after resorting to Craigslist, Maddie answers an odd job listing that offers up a Buick Regal as compensation. The gig? Date Matthew Broderick and Laura Benanti’s wealthy couple’s 19-year-old son Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman) for the summer, get him out of his shell and pop his cherry before he heads off to Princeton University in the fall; all while Percy remains unaware of his parents’ involvement. Initially thinking she had this one in the bag, Percy’s clueless, awkward anxiety-riddled vibe gives Maddie more than she bargained for.
Since leaving Creative Artists Agency in 2018, Jennifer Lawrence’s recent return to the screen has seen her shed the weight of the intensity she poured into her past few roles. The days of Oscar bait and franchise stardom where exhaustion was palpable in every performance are behind her. Agency and freedom have become more apparent with each new project. In “No Hard Feelings,” Lawrence lets her freak flag fly.
As brash, cynical Maddie, Lawrence taps back into the comedic roots she planted in 2007 on “The Bill Engvall Show” and excels in every aspect of this performance. She possesses the same adept comedic skill set as Anna Faris, Charlize Theron, Emma Stone and Regina Hall; actresses who flip their sensuality on a dime and dive headfirst into silly. Lawrence boasts expert comic timing, especially with Maddie’s cynical clap backs and insults. Even for someone as talented as Lawrence, it is still shocking to witness her commitment to outrageous feats of physical comedy. Nothing she did as Mystique in any of the “X-Men” movies will ever compare to watching a naked Maddie go full pro-wrestler on a group of teenagers.
But what makes “No Hard Feelings” truly special is its breakout performance by Andrew Barth Feldman, who takes his talents from Broadway to the big screen as an absolute delight opposite Maddie. His Percy is like Gary from Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Licorice Pizza” flipped inside out Instead of pursuing an older woman, he does everything he can to maintain abstinence at a slow and steady pace. He serves as a perfect foil for Lawrence’s Maddie character and earns plenty laughs with his timidness playing off her brashness throughout their scenes together.
Lawrence’s and Feldman’s peculiar emerging chemistry here amplifies the humor more than the weak script ever could. The best jokes are ruined in a much better edited trailer that quickly cuts to the next joke and does not linger on an actor’s reaction shot to whatever wacky thing is happening, as opposed to the final product, where it seems like every other shot is an actor reacting. Throughout this movie I waited patiently for one laugh out loud moment not from the promos. It never came.
Stupnitsky knows how to blend sincerity with absurdity. He did so successfully in his last feature effort, “Good Boys,” thanks in large part to its central young cast; and again most recently as a series co creator of “Jury Duty,” which used charming non actor subject Ronald Gladden. “No Hard Feelings” constantly tries to have its raunchy cake filled with sweet sentimental frosting, but its script is too frustratingly forced when it comes time for gags or drama. The film wants us to laugh and cry at different moments but doesn’t want us to do either throughout.
“No Hard Feelings” hits a peak gag halfway through and then stops short, trading dating mishap scenes for paired stories about two lonely people from different generations/classes who make each other grow up both of which are well written but feel far too familiar given this year’s “Licorice Pizza” and Lawrence’s previous lead project “Causeway,” both of which depicted these arcs more robustly. In this movie’s second half the outrageous comedy gets lost in some unearned character drama that seems straight out of another script.
“No Hard Feelings” would be a disaster if not for Lawrence and Barth Feldman’s joint comic excellence, their commanding charm/chemistry carrying laughs through that should keep the J Law lovers happy at least until her talents are put elsewhere.
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