No Hard Feelings Movie Review
Nathan Swank
June 23rd, 2023
Comedies are in short supply these days. Good comedies. Don’t get me wrong the genre does not get enough credit for the difficulty level and many comedies that we loved back in the day, probably don’t hold up. So for all of that, I am thankful NO HARD FEELINGS exists. Does that mean this R-rated raunchy comedy is worth seeing? Well that’s a bit more difficult to answer. But sure… probably?
Jennifer Lawrence goes all in as selfish, Uber-driving, 30 year-old Maddie, who in an attempt to save her childhood home finds a job listing where a couple of wealthy, helicopter parents (Matthew Broderick and Laura Benanti) are asking for a woman to “date” their 19 year-old son (Andrew Barth Feldman) and make a “man” of him before he goes to college. The catch is, their son can’t know she was hired for the job.
NO HARD FEELINGS is definitely one of those familiar inappropriate comedy plots from the 80’s or 90’s. A movie like this does not typically get made today. There is some good and bad to that and depending on what you deem to have comedic value will heavily influence your opinion of NO HARD FEELINGS. But for the most part you should know that going in and that should not be a topic of this review. However, I think we can all agree that this movie does not work if you role-reverse the story.
Is NO HARD FEELINGS funny? Yes and No. The film has some absolute laugh-out-loud moments with one particularly shocking scene that will be talked about for quite some time. Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence puts herself out there and genuinely seems to be having a ton of fun as Maddie in a seducing-gone-wrong, slapstick, raunch-com that sometimes veers too closely to rom-com. These sincere romance moments make the already uncomfortable scenario nearly unbearable. But Lawrence is a consummate pro. Andrew Barth Feldman delivers some terrific comedic moments of his own playing the sweet, socially awkward co-lead opposite Lawrence.
Like many comedies, the problem with NO HARD FEELINGS is it simply isn’t consistent. Not all jokes are gonna hit, but the tone is a bit messy and all-over the place. Trying to add drama, mixing the serious and comedic notes just doesn’t play well. My advice to all comedies is stick to being funny and losing the attempt at dramatic emotional beats, because that’s when things fall flat. Keeping a moral compass or tying up plot points is great, but just make sure you’re making it funny as you do it. I get that it is easier said than done and I applaud the attempts, but the feelings in NO HARD FEELINGS are actually hard to stomach.
Director Gene Stupnitsky (Good Boys) wisely keeps things brisk, even montaging relationship stuff, but the jokes aren’t happening quick enough to keep the laughs coming. However, seeing NO HARD FEELINGS with an audience helps lift the funny parts, creating a pleasant, easy summer-time hang. Under a different viewing situation, I could see my score dropping lower. The extreme comedy through the first half of the movie is much stronger than the second half, where the dramatic turns slow the film down. Not all the jokes work, but some do with great effect. And for that I’m grateful. Decent comedies and even less than decent comedies in general lately seem far and few between. Definitely comedies like NO HARD FEELINGS. With that in mind, it’s a bit refreshing, no matter how unsuccessful it is.
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