Year of Release: 2023
Director: Gene Stupnitsky
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Andrew Barth Feldman, Matthew Broderick, Laura Benanti, Natalie Morales, Scott MacArthur, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Kyle Mooney, Hasan Minhaj, Jordan Mendoza, Amalia Yoo, Alysia Joy Powell
Genre: Comedy
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 3
Watch it on Amazon
Synopsis and Review
"No Hard Feelings" is Gene Stupnitsky's sophomore directorial effort following "Good Boys", which was a middling commercial success in 2019. The film follows the narrative of Maddie Barker, an Uber driver and bartender in the area of Montauk. She's constantly infuriated at the fact that so many people have invaded the area, raising the cost of living for the ones who've been living there all along. She's also facing bankruptcy since she's unable to pay property taxes on the home she inherited from her mother. She loses her car due to that, which makes her life that much more complicated (she's unable to Uber drive). She and her friend Sara brainstorm ideas on how to solve her issues, until they come across an ad on Craigslist. The posting, hailing from a well off couple, Laird and Allison Becker, want someone to date their 19 year old son, as he's somewhat anti-social and removed from everyone in the area. In exchange for the service they're surrendering a Buick Regal. While both parents are surprised by the fact that Maddie is a bit older than they anticipated (she's 32), they all agree with the plan of having Maddie trying to seduce Percy. She initially tries to flirt with him at the animal shelter where he volunteers, but that doesn't go so well. When she volunteers to give him a ride home, he mistakenly thinks she's kidnapping him, and pepper sprays her. Maddie is however intent on getting that car, and keeps pushing onwards. Percy in the meantime also starts realizing Maddie has some intimacy issues and keeps man at bay as a result.
"No Hard Feelings" tries to fill the gap for the raunchy sex comedy void, a genre that existed in the early 80s (Bob Clark's "Porky's" springs to mind immediately), but that nearly much vanished since then. The immediate problem with the film is that while trying to be economical in the way it describes its characters, it also provides very little in terms of giving more substance or nuance on who they actually are. Maddie is mostly described and showcased as tightly wound, guarded and somewhat angry at the world, while Percy on other hand, he is showcased as overly sheltered and apparently oblivious to most social interactions. And while this dichotomy between the both of them initially has some awkward and funny moments, it also runs out of steam pretty quickly. Essentially because for all its risqué moments, the film tries to wrap the narrative around the tropes of a romantic comedy, as if the filmmakers are saying "this may be outrageous, but there's a beating heart here, and everyone just wants to be loved and understood". The problem with this approach it's not so much the tortuous way it gets to its point, but the fact that the filmmakers are afraid to truly be outrageous and show a bit more of just how people actually are. Unlike the initial films from the Farrelly brothers, Gene Stupnitsky's moves in this film are somewhat sanitized and therefore the characters are never really memorable, since while some of their actions are indeed appalling, no one wants to be labeled in a certain way, and therefore all actions have to ultimately fall into the romantic comedy genre, where every character is always redeemable. And while operating within the confinements of a genre can provide some interesting results, this film ultimately can't find its footing or its tone. The cast tries their best with the material, including Jennifer Lawrence's no filters approach to the role, which adds very little to her portfolio of characters, the same going for Matthew Broderick who is completely wasted in this role. The production team's work on this film is also fairly unimaginative and memorable. It's ultimately a forgettable endeavor.
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