June 25, 2023 · Watch the trailer
Movie studios used to make a lot more quality comedies. The scripts were funny; premises were unique, and stories were sharp and to the point.
It wasn’t just about making people laugh; there was a purpose behind why you’re making a movie. It made you feel good, have a chuckle or cry, but, regardless, the story always came first.
Nowadays, comedies have largely been relegated to streaming services as they seem to be the easiest way to churn out something quick with little thought or nuance to it.
On the rare occasion where a studio pushes their comedy to a theatrical release, something usually just doesn’t feel right about it.
This is especially true with the latest Jennifer Lawrence film, “No Hard Feelings,” from writer/director Gene Stupnitsky, a raunchy yet somewhat tame sex comedy that finds the Oscar winner seducing and dating an awkward 19-year-old boy to earn a car and save her family home.
Lawrence is exceptional in this movie as she is in almost any role she plays, making the most of the increasingly awkward situation by leaning in and twisting the knife deeper as both Lawrence and her character Maddie relish in the audacity of the situation’s that she and Percy find themselves in.
As much as he tries, there’s not a lot of complexity to the character, however, as a story of a troubled family history feels somewhat forced into the larger narrative and doesn’t really balance with the overall plot of the film.
Newcomer Andrew Barth Feldman is a revelation and a perfect foil to Lawrence’s more demonstrative, forward performance. His shy introvert comes across as affable and sweet while not overly naïve, but there’s just something to the film as a whole that feels wrong.
It has to be done with an older woman teaching a younger man in a “Graduate”-esque manner to be palatable in 2023. If the roles reversed where a 30-something man was hired to take a teenage girl’s virginity – even if she were technically of age – it would come across as creepy and predatory.
Luckily, Lawrence and Feldman keep the film from going completely off the rails, but the awkwardness of the tone goes beyond the comedic and into often cringeworthy territory.
What makes “No Hard Feelings” incredibly upsetting is the ways in which it infantilizes emotional men and basically attempts to teach boys that their timidity and emotional fragility is a hinderance to their life and sexual prowess will break them out of their shell to lead a successful life.
Men who grew up this way or boys struggling to talk to girls understandably feel shame watching “No Hard Feelings” as it only cushions the blow by making Percy seem like a poor, unfortunate soul whose life will begin once he’s been with a woman.
There are genuinely funny moments in the film, most of which rely on Lawrence’s commitment to the bit or gag, especially one sequence featuring full nudity from the Oscar winner in a skinny-dipping scene that provides a lot of humor, but the age gap and emotional maturity differences between Maddie and Percy aren’t ever fully addressed in a respectful, responsible manner.
Much of Stupnitsky’s writing is done in half measures as if he has this great concept for older woman paid off to seduce younger man with a couple of gags and then has to piecemeal fill in the blanks in order to create a cohesive narrative structure backfilling the story.
The best comedies are story first with the jokes supporting the narrative. “No Hard Feelings” does the complete opposite to moderate success at best.
Because streaming services are endlessly desperate for content, there’s no doubt that “No Hard Feelings” will ultimately end up gaining a second life on Netflix at some point later this year thanks to a deal Sony and the streamer made for exclusive rights of their films.
While the film might be somewhat more entertaining with a packed audience, there’s no reason that it’s a must-see in theaters.
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