After going on an absolute horror comedy bender this past month, I decided it was time to cleanse my palate with a straight-up rom-com. I heard great things about Jennifer Lawrence’s No Hard Feelings and decided to give it a go because it fell into the right genre, and I’ve only really seen Lawrence perform in comedy-adjacent dramatic roles like American Hustle and Silver Linings Playbook. I knew she was funny when she made appearances on talk shows, but I didn’t know she had it in her to be so off-the-wall in this movie.
A Fun Time
I’ll definitely be recommending No Hard Feelings to my wife because I also need a break from the bender that she’s currently on, which involves a gratuitous amount of Gilmore Girls and Grey’s Anatomy.
No Hard Feelings is a by-the-numbers romantic comedy, but a refreshing one because it has a female protagonist. More often than not, the questionable behavior (stalking) acted out in this type of movie is carried out by a guy who’s trying to get a girl to like him.
What’s more, its R rating opens up the floor for some pretty raunchy sequences, which elevates the humor because the 12-year-old in me still finds an inappropriate amount of cursing in this context hilarious.
The Set Up
As one would expect, the plot to No Hard Feelings leaves very little room for interpretation because you’re just supposed to enjoy its slap-stick humor. Jennifer Lawrence‘s Maddie Barker is a down-on-her-luck bartender and Uber driver who finds herself in a bind after her car gets repossessed because she hasn’t been paying the property taxes on the house she inherited from her deceased mother.
Facing bankruptcy, she finds two helicopter parents (portrayed by Matthew Broderick and Laura Benanti) on Craigslist who are willing to part ways with a Buick Regal if she can get their shy and awkward son, Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman), out of his shell before shipping off to Princeton University.
Looking To Seduce For A Car
Desperate for money and a stroke of good luck, Maddie wastes no time trying to seduce Percy because she’s in it to win it in No Hard Feelings. Things get off to a rough start when Maddy, who’s 32 years old, tries to kidnap 19-year-old Percy from his job at the animal shelter, which results in her getting maced by the naive teenager.
Their developing romance, which Percy doesn’t know is a setup, continues to be problematic because Maddie is jaded from past failed relationships, and Percy is so innocent for his age that he doesn’t pick up on Maddie’s various attempts at seduction.
Surprisingly Wholesome
After its initial setup, No Hard Feelings becomes surprisingly wholesome because Maddie and Percy unwittingly provide each other with emotional support that they both so desperately need. Percy becomes more confident because an older woman with poor impulse control is giving him the time of day, and Maddie is surprised to find out that Percy is a really good listener who genuinely cares about her well-being.
That being said, whatever wholesome moments happen in this film are immediately offset by nude fist fights at the beach, high-speed car chases, cat fights at college parties, and Percy consuming way too much alcohol at inopportune moments.
Stream It Now
No Hard Feelings is a feelgood, foul-mouthed, and refreshing romantic comedy that has a similar sense of humor to films like There’s Something About Mary and Superbad. If you’re looking for a solid popcorn movie that you don’t have to take seriously, I strongly recommend this title if you’re on the fence about romantic comedies that typically play it safe. If you want to see Jennifer Lawrence in top form, you can stream No Hard Feelings on Netflix right now.
