No Hard Feelings

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Andrew Barth Feldman, Laura Benanti, Matthew Broderick, Natalie Morales, Scott MacArthur, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Kyle Mooney, Hasan Minhaj, Jordan Mendoza
Directed by: Gene Stupnitsky
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Romance
2023

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A struggling woman (Jennifer Lawrence) agrees to "date" an introverted teen (Andrew Barth Feldman), set up by his parents (Laura Benanti, Matthew Broderick) in exchange for a car.

Review:

Tim: I'm going to give No Hard Feelings a fair, well-rounded review. But, I want to stress up front that the film is a bit of a disappointment. There's a lot to like here and I'll touch on that, but I expected better from Gene Stupnitsky. I was definitely a fan of his flawed-but-funny Good Boys, but this movie represents a step backwards. It does just enough to land in "decent" territory, but I left the film feeling bitter. It could have and should have been significantly better.

I do want to throw praise on this film for delivering a real R-rated comedy. Man, we used to get several of these every year. I don't know if it's due to the PC culture pervading everywhere, the "Me Too" trend (both things, for the record, I fully support) or what, but people seem to not be making movies like this anymore. It was refreshingly wonderful to see a film embrace its R rating in a comedic setting. I was happy watching this film for that reason. The movie does put something some very funny sequences. I don't know if anything here rises to classic comedy moments, but I generally chuckled throughout the film. Even the jokes that don't quite land get close enough for a smirk. Comedy is hard and I appreciate Stupnitsky writing and directing a funny movie.

That's what really gets me about this film- it's hard to make audiences laugh, but Stupnitsky accomplishes that with this film. It's funny enough and it's always entertaining. The problem that sinks the film is the story. The human elements, the drama, the decisions the characters make- they just don't make any sense. There was an obvious way to tell this story in a way that felt somewhat realistic, like the characters would say or do things that actual human beings in our world would do. The script continually falls down in this area. I acknowledge the whole concept is ridiculous, but as it's the premise of the film, I'll go with it. The movie actually does a nice job giving the characters backstories that explain why a 30-32 year-old woman would do this. The problem happens during the ups-and-downs of their "relationship". Her actions make increasingly less sense. The movie wants you to eventually believe she's really invested in this kid, is leaning into this when it feels increasingly unlikely that she would. Jennifer Lawrence and Andrew Barth Feldman give good individual performances, but their chemistry (not romantic chemistry, just people-chemistry) never felt present to me. I never bought why she would care about this kid to this extent. Her begging or soul-searching felt like a plot convenience. Stupnitsky with his script and direction never sells this central relationship appropriately. That undermines the whole film. I continually groaned and rolled my eyes at what the film asks us to believe about these characters. It's madness and the movie never convinces us of any of this.

I actually give Jennifer Lawrence a ton of credit for playing this role. In our current landscape where a lot of Karens get offended by everything and want to ban any book that they deem offensive, it took a certain amount of courage to play an older woman trying to sleep with a teenager in exchange for a car from his parents. I'm shocked this movie got made and Lawrence really dove in to bring this character to life. Lawrence has played a lot of serious roles in her time, so it was refreshingly hilarious to see her embrace this foul-mouthed free spirit. Her performance is quite strong, she really embraces the comedic elements of this film. One aspect of her performance that stunned me is that she didn't use a body double for the nude fight scene on the beach. It feels so odd even typing those words. It's definitely the film's most memorable, insane sequence. I was certain she didn't do that herself, but apparently I was wrong. I desperately wish the movie around her was better, for the big risks she took. But yes, Lawrence is excellent in this and she's a huge reason why I consider the film decent. She saved this movie.

Andrew Barth Feldman was good in his role, but never great. I really disliked how his character was portrayed. I think he needed to be a more sympathetic character. I just couldn't connect with him, he seemed like an out of touch jerk (not just a hopeless cause). Much of this is the writing, but Feldman's performance leaned the character in this direction, too. He's clearly a much worse actor than Lawrence and that revealed itself in their many scenes together. The guy does have talent, but I don't think this was a great performance. I liked seeing Matthew Broderick here, in a small supporting role. He works well with Laura Benanti. Natalie Morales and Scott MacArthur were hilarious together. I wish we had more scenes with them, because they were a terrific scene-stealing duo. Many of the film's most humorous moments comes from their banter. Ebon Moss-Bachrach gave a surprisingly heartfelt performance. It felt like the movie didn't deserve how good of a performance he gave. I was really impressed with what he brought to a nothing role. The cast for the film was solid.

As I said, there's definitely things to like about this film. Unfortunately, Stupnitsky's film ultimately fails to fire on enough cylinders. I never bought the characters and their actions and motivations never made a lot of sense. That was a huge distraction as the film went on. There's definitely some impressive moments in the film, but it's not quite funny enough to make you belly laugh. It's a decent comedy and I give everyone involved credit for taking a big swing and bringing us a true R-rated comedy. It's a reminder that we need more of these. Just, next time, maybe a bit better?

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
Good Boys, The Beaver, Joy, Silver Linings Playbook