Movie Review: ‘No Hard Feelings’ Blu-ray

Review by James Lindorf

In 2019 first-time director Gene Stupnitsky helmed “Good Boys,” the best pure comedy in a year with a lot of competition. For his second outing, he has partnered with Best Actress Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence to produce “No Hard Feelings” an R-rated comedy throwback to the 80’s that gave us “Risky Business,” “Can’t Buy Me Love,” and “Porky’s.”

Lawrence plays Maddie, a Montauk native whose summer revolves around catering to rich people looking to escape the hustle of New York City. Her car has been repossessed, and her home is being threatened by the county for failure to pay her skyrocketing taxes due to the McMansions being built by the summer residents. While searching for a deal on a new car, a job posting is the answer to her prayers. Wealthy helicopter parents (Matthew Broderick and Laura Benanti) are looking for someone to “date” their introverted 19-year-old son, Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman). The socially awkward high school grad is heading to Princeton in the fall and is encased in a diamond-hard shell. Maddie will have to push her boundaries if she is going to accomplish this challenge before time runs out.

Jennifer Lawrence has never done anything wrong, to my knowledge. Still, she has developed into a controversial figure as the public questioned the authenticity of her quirky personality. It may not be fair, but how people feel about her will drastically influence their desire to see or their ability to enjoy “No Hard Feelings.” Lawrence is excellent partly because it feels like this is more true to who she is than any previous role
Those willing to make a trip to their local theater will see that director Gene Stupnitsky and his co-writer John Phillips (Dirty Grandpa) were able to blend Lawrence’s willingness to be silly and her noted aggressiveness with Maddie’s sex positivity into a character that can be a lot but has a lot to offer.

If you are on the fence about Lawrence, take comfort in the fact that they surrounded her with a great supporting cast. Natalie Morales and Scott MacArthur provide great dry humor as Maddie’s best friends, Sara and Jim, in contrast to the bold style of Lawrence. Broderick and Benanti have great chemistry playing 80’s style helicopter parents, and every scene with them is a standout. Their character design is a clear oxymoron because helicopter parents are the exact opposite of those that gave rise to a generation of latchkey kids. Somehow it works, though. It is primarily due to the actors’ charm that you believe they are so concerned for Percy that they will hire someone to take care of the problem like true one percenters. Speaking of Percy, this is a breakout moment for Andrew Barth Feldman, who is endearing, very talented, and genuinely funny. He also does a fantastic cover of the Hall & Oates classic “Maneater” that I could listen to on repeat.

While it has several strong elements, “No Hard Feelings” is far from a perfectly crafted film. It could have used more time and money to improve its CGI elements. It is true that no one is coming to a summer comedy for the visual effects, but if you are going to include them, they deserve to be better executed. The more significant issue is that the tone of the comedy is wildly inconsistent. It is often dry and understated, and then Lawrence is stalking out of the water like a Terminator that just arrived from the future or getting maced.

Stupnitsky and Phillips probably watched a ton of 80s comedies growing up and were inspired to make a film that could fit in that era. However, growing up watching those films and being old enough with the sense of humor to create them are two drastically different things. The film feels like they are stretching for that nostalgic feeling; every time they do, they lose their footing and are forced to correct it. They and the film excel in the smaller comedic and dramatic moments and get laughs from the shock factor when it goes big.

“No Hard Feelings” is an easy and enjoyable watch that should delight audiences looking to beat the heat and have a few laughs. For multiple laugh-out-loud moments, great performances, and being bold enough to subvert a typical genre trope, “No Hard Feelings” earns a 3 out of 5.

Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Director: Gene Stupnitsky
Writer: Gene Stupnitsky, John Phillips
Runtime: 1h 43m
Distributor: Columbia Pictures