On Monday night, I went to see Gene Stupnitsky’s second feature film, No Hard Feelings, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Andrew Barth Feldman at the Enfield Cinemark. Along with Lawrence and Feldman, the cast consisted of Matthew Broderick (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), Laura Benanti (tick, tick…BOOM!), Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear), and Natalie Morales (The Little Things).
No Hard Feelings follows Maddie (Jennifer Lawrence), who is a 32 year-old Uber driver and bartender and Montauk local that’s behind on her bills. She’s living in her childhood home that she lived in with her mom before she passed away. Due to being behind on her bills, she gets her car repoed. With that occurring and being unable to drive Uber, she accepts a Craigslist request to “date” the 19 year old son (Andrew Barth Feldman) of two wealthy parents in exchange for Buick Regal. Maddie begins to “date” Percy and all the chaos that you could imagine ensues.
NOTE: SPOILERS AHEAD
The Good
In the case of No Hard Feelings, there was a lot of good. A LOT of good. First off, Stupnitsky has brought back the summer blockbuster comedy. It’s been a longtime since film fans received a good, raunchy comedy. 2020-2022 yielded the release of any real humorous movies and the last good comedy came in 2019. Any guesses on who the director was? If you guessed Gene Stupnitsky, then you’d be correct. His crude childhood comedy Good Boys was hysterical and felt like a Superbad prequel. As of right now, Gene Stupnitsky is the best comedy director in the game and he’s only put out two films thus far.
Dialogue wise, No Hard Feelings is clean. There’s no fluff or even poorly written jokes that sound cheesy. Every quip from Jennifer Lawrence, Andrew Barth Feldman, and the rest of the cast was hilarious and continued to push the plot making the films pacing quick and fresh. But Stupnitsky’s writing has always been pristine. In 2011, the satirical comedy Bad Teacher starring Cameron Diaz was released and it showed a big star in a different, funnier light. Stupnitsky co-wrote Bad Teacher, along with Good Boys and No Hard Feelings. Even if Stupnitsky isn’t behind the camera directing, his comedic chops shine through.
On the performance front, I was blown away with Jennifer Lawrence. My biggest concern with Lawrence taking this role wasn’t if she could be funny. It was that I thought she was taking this role to look hip. While there was some of that, it actually looked as if Lawrence was enjoying herself on screen. Her chemistry with Andrew Barth Feldman was unmatched because Feldman radiated a nervous and awkward energy while Lawrence delivered confident and jovial vibes. The two just played off each other so well and I loved that.
The Bad
While there was a lot of good that came from Gene Stupnitsky in No Hard Feelings, there was some stuff that I didn’t love. My main gripe was that there was too much of a feel good storyline sentiment. I get that the entirety of No Hard Feelings can’t be crazy jokes and over-the-top funny actions, but I think Stupnitsky went over the top when he was trying to make us feel sympathetic for Maddie. There was too much of Maddie referencing back to “how her mom wanted her to be happy.” A lot of that actually lost me and turned me away from the film. But then again, I’d be sucked back in because of how funny the dialogue was.
I do have one more slight gripe. In comedies, usually everything goes, but I do think the relationship between Percy and Maddie can be perceived as problematic. Yes, it is typically every 19 year old kids fantasy to have sex with a woman who’s a little older, but if you flipped this plot on its head and made it where a 32 year old guy is being bribed to “make a woman out of” a 19 year old girl then it’s super problematic. I personally had no issue with this storyline and overall thought the movie was funny, but I could see this being an aspect of the movie not aging well in five, ten, or even twenty years.
The Outrageous
In any great comedy, there is an outrageous aspect that can make or break the film. With Step Brothers we got the nut sack on the drum set. The 40 Year Old Virgin delivered Steve Carell screaming after he got his nipples waxed off. And I’ll give you one more to serve the comedy rule of three. Observe and Report showed us the full frontal of a manic flasher. Those outrageous moments make you remember those films for years past the first viewing and make you want to go back and rewatch them.
For No Hard Feelings, Gene Stupnitsky delivers big time on a hysterical shock factor scene. During the scene where Maddie and Percy go skinny dipping at the beach, a group of teens taunt them in the water and then steal their clothes. Maddie then proceeds to sprint out the water like Usain Bolt and, fully nude, fights these three teens who stole their clothes. At one point she even suplexs one of the kids. Again, fully nude. Going into No Hard Feelings, I knew Lawrence had a nude scene, but nothing could’ve prepared me for what happened. I assumed it’d be her naked trying to coerce Percy into having sex, not go full Kurt Angle in the buff.
Performance Report Card
Jennifer Lawrence as Maddie Barker: A
I had initial concerns about Lawrence being in a raunchy comedy. She’s a great actress and has had knockout performances in The Hunger Games series, Silver Linings Playbook, and mother!, but hadn’t done a full on comedy before. There are comedic elements in movies like Silver Linings Playbook and Don’t Look Up, but this was her first real comedy film and she was awesome. Her delivery was perfect with every outrageous statement she would make and played very nicely with Andrew Barth Feldman.
Andrew Barth Feldman as Percy Becker: A
This was Andrew Barth Feldmans career making role. Before No Hard Feelings, Feldman had only been in a handful of films and television shows in very limited roles. After No Hard Feelings though, Feldman should have a career as a comedic actor. Much like Lawrence, his delivery was fantastic and he played the quirky, awkward teen perfectly.
Matthew Broderick as Laird Becker: C
On August 5, 1987 in Tempo, North Ireland, Matthew Broderick crossed into the wrong lane and collided head-on with 28 year old Anna Gallagher and her 63 year old mother Margaret Doherty killing them instantly. He was only fined $175 dollars. His performance in No Hard Feelings was fine.
Laura Benanti as Allison Becker: C
Percys parents weren’t really integral parts of the movie. Yes, they did setup the entire plot of hiring Maddie to “date” her son, but they stayed to the side. I actually think that was a good call by Stupnitsky to not repeatedly push them into the plot. But with that being said, Benanti and Broderick didn’t have enough screen time to warrant a higher grade.
Natalie Morales as Sara: B-
Natalie Morales was a great support character for Maddie. You need a character like this in a comedy because not everyone can crack jokes and be funny all the time. Sara offered good advice to Maddie and was the one that got her to leave Montauk and live her best life. She was a good character and Natalie Morales was solid in this role.
Scott MacArthur as Jim: B+
“You think anyone would have sex you in your current state?” Of all the side characters in No Hard Feelings, Scott MacArthur as Jim was hysterical. He’s Sara’s boyfriend and always has a funny response to anything Maddie or Sara says through the whole film. MacArthur was like Steve Kerr on the ’95-’96 Bulls because he knew he wasn’t the star, but still delivered in every way he needed to.
Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Gary: B
I recently started watching The Bear where Ebon Moss-Bachrach has a prominent role and he’s amazing in that. He played a small role here in No Hard Feelings as one of Maddie’s many failed flings, but he was great. Moss-Bachrach played a kind of soft guy who was looking for a relationship, but was thwarted by Maddie. I enjoyed him in this and thought he was a great addition to the cast.
Kyle Mooney as Jody: C+
I thought that Kyle Mooney was pretty good in No Hard Feelings as Percy’s former nanny because he was an awesome, sniveling prick. Honestly, I think he was a little underutilized. We could’ve gotten a little side plot where he works hard to expose Maddie for taking money. That’s what I actually thought was going to happen when he first appeared, but no dice.
Critical Reception
After No Hard Feelings first weekend, it has earned $26.2 million dollars at the box office on a $45 million dollar budget. All box office projections are pointing towards No Hard Feelings making its money back and turning a profit. If those projections are correct then this’d be the second time Stupnitsky has turned a profit on his feature films. His first feature film, Good Boys made $111.2 million dollars at the box office on a $20 million dollar budget.
Ratings wise, on Letterboxd, No Hard Feelings has a 3.3/5 star rating and on IMDB, the film has earned a 6.8/10 rating. The Rotten Tomatoes “Tomatometer” has a 67% rating and the audience score is currently at 88%. Good Boys, which came out in 2019, received a “Tomatometer” score of 80%, which tops No Hard Feelings. However, the audience score for No Hard Feelings is 2% higher as Good Boys received an 86% in that category.