Review: No Hard Feelings
On the brink of losing her home, Maddie finds an intriguing job listing: helicopter parents looking for someone to bring their introverted 19-year-old son out of his shell before college. She has one summer to make him a man or die trying.
Jennifer Lawrence, Andrew Barth Feldman, Natalie Morales, Ebon Moss-bachrach, Matthew Broderick, Laura Benanti & Scott MacArthur.
No Hard Feelings brings great raunchy comedies back & exceeds all expectations. Jennifer Lawrence is, of course, known for her franchise films and dramas but she once again (with Don’t Look Up) proves to be a terrific comic actress. As well as sprinkling the much needed drama and complexity to the film.
Over the past 10 years, romantic comedies have started to lose their touch. Giving into more and more cliches and losing the charm of the 2000’s. In the digital age, the aesthetic of a comedy has shifted and become dull, while the comedy is still somewhat there. No Hard Feelings brings back that 2000’s risk to the filmmaking and plot, testing the competency of audiences to see if they even understand messages and the point to risks taken. I found myself giddy with excitement over how wonderfully shot and lit the film is, often filmed like a JLaw drama at times. With the missing ingredient being that it wasn’t shot on film. The film takes the concept and fully commits to it, being unapologetically what it is.
With it being a comedy, it doesn’t always land every joke but is certainly one of the more consistent comedies over the last few years. Jennifer’s chemistry with Andrew is as clear as day and both deliver wonderfully funny and dramatically subtle performances.
The film constantly takes exciting and unexpected turns & never felt repetitive or too long. The core themes about growing up, pulling in to get out, understanding that you don’t have to grow up now but that can come later in life is touching and well developed. With a lot more under the surface. It does use certain comedy tropes to keep the film moving, but that is easily ignored due to how overly happy I was with how all in the film is.
The supporting cast are all delightful and appreciated, not just offering great comic relief, but in their own themes and help develop our plot further. The only thing missing is as a joyous celebrity cameo that are always better than character ones.
There’s a couple story strands I would have loved to see developed more, particularly involving Maddy’s family side of the story with more runtime. But nothing that affects the overall viewing experience.
No Hard Feelings is one of my favourite films of the year and certainly one of my favourite raunchy comedies. It’s endlessly entertaining and funny, but wonderfully heartfelt and impactful. Jennifer Lawrence is always the standout, but Andrew impresses too. I loved it.
