The experience of watching No Hard Feelings, the R-rated Sony comedy starring Jennifer Lawrence that is streaming now on Netflix, is so disappointing that one could almost deny it based on principle alone. Those going in thinking they will see anything other than cheap amusement, as Lawrence becomes her most over-the-top and inconsistent character yet for Gene Stupnitsky’s follow-up to Good Boys. Trust us, you want to avoid the tempting promise of No Hard Feelings this week.
No Hard Feelings Plot Summary
Jennifer Lawrence plays Maddie, a down-on-her-luck local bartender in the Hamptons who’s desperate for money and takes a job as a “date” for a wealthy couple’s 19-year-old son. The challenge of bringing this painfully introverted young man out of his shell proves nearly impossible, but Maddie must do all she can to avoid losing her childhood home in Montauk.
An Unsavory Subject Safely Told in No Hard Feelings
Lawrence’s film comedy history is surprisingly short, considering her seasoned career. After showing off the witty, somewhat dark, deadpan comedy-drama dialogue of David O. Russell in Silver Linings Playbook and Joy, she returned to comedy acting in the apocalyptic satire Don’t Look Up. Suffice it to say that Lawrence is playing her zaniest character yet in No Hard Feelings, though her casting in the film does not feel too out of place. Maddie has an undercurrent of relatable financial drama that she discusses authentically with her friends; Lawrence never plays these moments as a caricature unworthy of sympathy. We do not get to see here the extent of her range that many of her previous films display, but Lawrence is, as always, commendable.
Andrew Barth Feldman and Jennifer Lawrence in ‘No Hard Feelings’
Sadly, that is the only success in No Hard Feelings, as flat dialogue transitions to physical comedy and finally to extreme cringe-inducing delivery once the main plot gets rolling. In a day where people reappraise sex comedies as mostly creepy, disgusting, and generally unfunny, No Hard Feelings seems like a knowing answer to that genre’s problems on paper but does absolutely nothing to make it feel timely or universal. Stupnitsky and his co-creator give us a rare experience at once uncomfortable and predictable, a newly painful and unmoving film you have essentially already seen.
Does Jennifer Lawrence Make No Hard Feelings Worth The Watch?
Without Lawrence, the plot and writing of this movie could never have generated as much attention as No Hard Feelings did, even with Stupnitsky attached. Though he shows the sense in his burgeoning direction abilities to keep things short and brisk, the childish yet adult-oriented output of his career betrays a lack of interesting creative bearing. Lawrence might make the discomfort of No Hard Feelings bearable for those who find her charm unbeatable, but everything other than the ridiculous ploys for wackiness will be instantly forgettable.
No Hard Feelings is streaming now on Netflix.
