No Hard Feelings

In cinemas now

Fellow cinema enthusiasts will know that there’s few better feelings than when a film surpasses your expectations. Seldom other art forms have the ability to replace cynicism with joy within the space of a few hours, and the latest film from Gene Stupnitsky (of Good Boys acclaim) is a good example of this.

On face value, No Hard Feelings is a lewd, R-rated flick that knowingly leans into the internet’s rampant sexualisation of its star, Jennifer Lawrence, in a ploy to attract viewers. However, while that synopsis isn’t entirely untrue upon deeper inspection, Stupnitsky’s second directorial feature is a far more heartfelt affair than any of its promotional material would have you believe.

The film’s plot focuses on Maddie (Lawrence), a down-and-out millennial who accepts an unusual proposition from the parents of Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman) to date their teenage son for the summer in exchange for a Buick Regal. Like any odd couple flick, No Hard Feelings is beholden to the chemistry of its two leads and both Barth Feldman and particularly Lawrence are on stellar form in that regard, delivering plenty of laughs over the course of the film’s pleasingly tight runtime.

It is especially good to be reminded of Lawrence’s tremendous ability as a comic performer. Her star has waned somewhat in recent years, but her game performance here serves as an ample memo that there are few more charismatic leading ladies working in mainstream cinema today.  

Like the aforementioned Good Boys, No Hard Feelings is far from groundbreaking but is nonetheless a functional and highly enjoyable slice of summer comedy that reminds audiences that R-rated comedies can possess heart and do not have to follow the wearisome American Pie formula of dick-joke-laden chauvinism.