It’s a form of emotional paralysis reminiscent of “The Graduate,” though to be clear, not nearly that good.įor Maddie, life consists of one-night stands and feeling less-than due to the class distinction of growing up with her nose pressed up against the glass watching the privileged folk on the other side.įeldman’s youthful appearance makes him seem even more vulnerable and the mercenary aspects of Maddie’s task feel dicier. In Percy’s case, the issue involves having shrunken into himself and an online world, and “helicopter parents” that want him to grow up while simultaneously making it harder for him to actually do that. Yet “No Hard Feelings” (a generic title that also indicates the studio didn’t really quite get what they had here) also has a poignant side in exploring the odd friendship that develops between these two characters, each damaged in different ways. Maddie is a little older than what they envisioned as a potential seductress (turning Lawrence’s age into a running gag turns out to be pretty inspired), but she convinces them that women Percy’s age are idiots, and besides, she really, really needs the car they’re offering.ĭirected and co-written by Gene Stupnitsky (sharing script credit with fellow “The Office” alum John Phillips), what ensues could easily have become a bawdy R-rated comedy with lots of over-the-top situations, and there’s some of that. She blames her dire financial straits on the influence of wealthy summer residents to the seaside town of Montauk, where she lives, making it extra difficult on her struggling cohort to get by.Įnter a wealthy couple (Matthew Broderick, Laura Benanti) who place an ad for someone to date (that would be the polite way of putting it) their 19-year-old son, Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman, in a strong step up for the “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” co-star), and “bring him out of his shell” before he enrolls at Princeton. Lawrence’s Maddie is pretty, but she’s also desperate, at risk of losing her house and with her car getting repossessed, particularly bad news for a part-time Uber driver. Part French sex comedy, part “American Pie”-like coming-of-age story, this raunchy vehicle for Jennifer Lawrence also possesses darker and deeper streaks that elevate it above its “Pretty. “No Hard Feelings” is the kind of hard-to-characterize movie that isn’t served by a splashy ad campaign, in mostly good ways.

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