No Hard Feelings had some pretty scathing reviews. It’s not actually that bad. Jennifer Lawrence is always one to watch. The film was uneven. The first half was a silly set up, but the second half showed merit and connection. The two main characters had nice character arcs.
No Hard Feelings starts with Maddie (Jennifer Lawrence). She’s broke. She’s about to be evicted from her family home for back taxes and her car gets hauled away because of her tax bills. She works two jobs – tending bar and driving for Uber. One source of her income just got towed away. She’s got to take advantage of the summer tourist season in her holiday town to earn enough for that tax bill.
Maddie and her very pregnant best friend Sara (Natalie Morales) see an ad. A family seeks a young woman to bring their shy and awkward son out of his shell before he begins college. The pay is a Buick.
Maddie interviews with the meddling helicopter parents (Laura Benanti and Matthew Broderick). She realizes they want her to have sex with their kid and help bring him out of his shell.
The kid, Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman), is basically a shy high school boy. But Maddie wants that Buick and she comes on strong. REALLY strong. Percy is bewildered by what is happening, but he’s mostly willing to go along with it.
In the course of Maddie trying to seduce the kid and make off with the Buick, the two of them get acquainted and realize they actually like each other. That’s when the more worthwhile part of the film takes over and an interesting relationship develops.
One of the many questionable scenes in the movie had Jennifer Lawrence storming out of the ocean and brawling on the beach stark naked with some jerks trying to steal her and Percy’s clothes. It wasn’t really supposed to be a nude beach, but then nobody was supposed to be in the water at that hour either.
If you’re curious about this film – curiosity is what drew me in – watch it and make up your own mind. Let me know what you thought. Is is funny? Is it heartwarming? Is the entire premise horrifying? I was curious enough to watch.
The film is now streaming on Netflix.
Discover more from Old Ain't Dead
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.