No Hard Feelings

 This review may contain spoilers!

 

No Hard Feelings follows Maddie, an Uber driver who loses her car and is at risk of losing the house her mother left her. When she discovers a Craigslist ad offering a car in exchange for someone to sleep with the advertiser's son, Maddie accepts. This is a comedy film that works really well when it leans into how diametrically opposing these two are for the sake of humour, Maddie being so outwardly crass while Percy is more meek does lead to some hilarious moments. I also think this film leans into Maddie going over the top for Percy's affections well; the skinny dipping scene was surprising but extremely funny. There is also something sweet in what the two lead characters break out in one another within a few select scenes that are worth noting.

The score for this feature is light and jovial, but more significantly the soundtrack works really well. Seriously this film uses Hall & Oates' 'Maneater' incredibly and in the most surprising way possible.

 

Jennifer Lawrence, who played Maddie Barker, is a fantastic lead protagonist in this; Lawrence just gets to be rude and uncouth in this one which results in a fun comedic role. Scott MacArthur, who played Jim, is a bit of a scene stealer; MacArthur really delivers his lines in a surprising way that immediately just hits more often than not.

However, the best performance came from Andrew Barth Feldman, who played Percy Becker. This feels like a big call to make because Jennifer Lawrence is truly the big draw of this film, but Feldman comes in like a sleeper hit. When first we are introduced to him he comes off as meek or timid, very much an isolated figure who prefers his own company. Seeing this young man awkwardly navigate around and away from Lawrence's advances is hilarious, and I appreciated how he really built on all the awkward and nervous qualities Percy should have. But there is something in this performance that switches that sets it apart. Feldman really subtly and steadily develops Percy's confidence. At first this just looks like a scared kid fighting for his phone on the hood of a car or an honest conversation about why his character is so lonely and awkward. But as the film continues Feldman grows this confidence, we see Percy as having some quiet charisma on his date with Lawrence or evoking an upset tantrum that befits his twilight teenage self. Watching Percy's hurt over discovering his parents' and Maddie's betrayal is very effective and you feel his anager all the way through the final act. I thought I came to be stunned by Jennifer Lawrence, and I was; but I was entirely captured by the talent of this rising star.

The concept of this film is going to be murky for some and not so murky for others. I really grappled with it, I tried to keep my mind open but the premise for this film just sucks. At the end of the day the comedy here is this nineteen year old is being manipulated by Maddie into having sex with him; at the behest of his parents against his knowledge. A lot of the gags are funny on the surface level but the first half of the film is just watching Maddie constantly trying to push Percy into having sex with her so she can finally, FINALLY, get that new car. Maddie does stop shy of sleeping with Percy when he's half-drunk which the film seems to expect us to cheer for, as if this isn't the lowest possible expectation of consent we should have. I was also really surprised how infrequent the humour was in this film. The feature really kicks the door down by announcing itself as your stock standard comedy but the deeper we go it's almost like I'm watching a brooding coming of age story for our two leads. If the transition in tone was gentle here maybe this would have worked, but it's quite stark and often flips on itself spontaneously. I found Percy to be quite an intriguing character but Maddie's whole backstory around hating rich people, fighting for her house, her side character best friends and even her daddy issues never feel as interesting as anything else going on. As a character Maddie could have been better developed or given a little more thought so the audience holds the same sentiment for her that we wind up holding for Percy.

I also thought this film was quite boring visually; the camera work came off as very simple and just used quite standard mid shots to capture action and dialogue alike. Even the editing set a slower pace than this film really deserved, the film bided it's time and could have benefitted from some sharper cuts.

Laura Benanti and Matthew Broderick, who played Allison Becker and Laird Becker respectively, were quite underwhelming as generic helicoptor parents with a few quippy lines; Broderick in particular I thought was capabale of a far wittier showing than this. Natalie Morales, who played Sara, is wasted in this feature as the best friend character to Lawrence; neither of these two actresses have any chemistry with one another so you don't buy into their friendship. Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who played Gary, is such a stoic performer that he feels out of place here; I'm just not convinced Moss-Bachrach is funny enough to warrant the amount of screen time he got. Kyle Mooney, who played Jody, is a character who very easily could have been cut from the film and nothing would change; Mooney's role is entirely uncomfortable and never the funnier for it. Jordan Mendoza, who played Crispin, is such a random character; Mendoza delivers all of his lines quite deadpan which doesn't really enhance his scenes. Zahn McClarnon, who played Gabe Sawyer, was given a strange amount of screen time in the first act only to randomly disappear; McClarnon seems a little unsure himself of what his purpose is in this film.

There's something entirely inescapable about the absolutely creepy and offputting premise at the core concept of this film. I would give No Hard Feelings a 4/10.