Movie Review: Jennifer Lawrence In The Raunchy Teen Comedy 'No Hard Feelings'
© San Diego Union Tribune This Sony Pictures release shows Jennifer Lawrence, left, and Andrew Burt Feldman in a scene from 'No Hard Feelings.' (Mackle Poley/Sony Pictures via AP) (Mackle Poley/Associated Press)In a perfect world, we'd have dozens of Jennifer Lawrence comedies.
When foreigners arrive, they head straight to IMDB to check out her filmography and wonder why one of Hollywood's funniest and most naturally charismatic stars spent the first decade of her career bouncing between dystopias, action movies, and being called "Mom." "
To make up for lost time, Lawrence produced No Hard Feelings, a teen comedy that typically featured young actors. He plays a 32-year-old Montauk Uber driver desperate for cash after his car is towed, a shy and sheltered 19-year-old (newcomer Andrew Burt Feldman) hired by his wealthy parents (Matthew Broderick, Laura Benanti). ) to take her virginity before going to Princeton.
Of course, we've made a lot of movies about teenagers trying to fall in love for the first time. But "No Hard Feelings," directed and co-written by Gene Stupnitsky, may be the first movie teenagers don't want. He's right, her parents are probably based on her visual history.
But when Maddie Barker (Lawrence) arrives at the Long Island animal shelter where Percy (Feldman) works in a hot pink dress and high heels, she reacts to his advances mostly with anxiety and fear. The encounter ends with Percy shooting Maddy with a bat.
Now, rejecting 19-year-old Jennifer Lawrence is a great way to lose the audience's connection to your main character. Forcing a child to hit. Some things are unforgivable. Maddie and Percy go on a more intimate date and Percy promises to "bond".
The concept of "no hard feelings" is completely impossible. Less convincing than Percy's reaction to Maddy is his involvement in the plan. - Lover (Ebony Moss-Bachach in the movie "Bear"). In the affluent neighborhood of Montauk, Maddie tries to keep her house - the house she grew up in - occupied.
Maddie, who is forced to go skiing because of her job as a bartender, may be desperate for money. But, say what you will about the gig economy, restaurants offer lucrative options for sleeping with bored teenagers in the absence of Pepsi.
Still, "No Hard Feelings" works better than this. The absurdity of the show is definitely part of the joke. As Ratatouille's tongue twister comes to life here, Feldman brings more sensitivity to the role than you might expect and shines with good comedic timing. He is so restless in his meetings that he jumps like a scared cat when he hears a break in a nearby pool cage. He leans against the sea and shivers like a dog.
While the role forces Lawrence into sleazy situations that could easily be imagined beneath her, "No Feelings" gives her plenty of room to show off her ability to turn traditional Hollywood glamor on its head. He was always happy to reduce his emotions; Not all A-listers are ready to hit the beach. LAWRENCE - As Hollywood writers say, it's easier to be scorned than to be a sex bomb.
In the end, Lawrence (who also serves as an executive producer) is very good, although some of the jokes are given a stage, and it feels like it is framed as a male romance. com/virtual. Comedies on the big screen are incredibly rare these days, which is why Hard Feelings , which opens in theaters Friday, is eager to appreciate its presence.
Stupnitsky's "Good Boys" deftly transforms a familiar genre—the house party movie—into a sixth-grade children's play. But "no hard feelings" can seem stuck in adolescence. Here are some moments that will make you happy that Lawrence can at least play with the big guys. (Natalie Morales and Scott MacArthur are excellent as Maddie's friends.) Lawrence could have easily delivered Maddie-level comedy without a child-friendly companion story.
But "No Hard Feelings" subverts the genre's standard beats and examines the generational gap in talent. Percy and many of his classmates seemed too glued to their phones and too refined for seemingly menial tasks. In one scene, Maddie falls upstairs at a high school party. Behind every door are children who can't speak but are quietly texting or playing video games — the very image of Gen Z, of course, more basic stuff. Maddie said in disbelief, "No one else?"
A Sony Pictures release, No Harm is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for sexual content, language, some graphic nudity and brief drug use. Duration: 103 minutes. Two and a half out of four stars.
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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
This story originally appeared in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
