Reviewed by GREG KING
Director: Gene Stupniski
Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Andrew Barth Feldman, Matthew Broderick, Laura Benanti, Natalie Morales, Scott MacArthur.
Percy’s Progress?
No Hard Feelings is a raunchy teen coming of age comedy that harks back to those comedies from the 80s – films like Porky’s and Fast Times At Ridgemont High, etc – but with some of the broader humour of more recent from the Judd Apatow school of teen comedies like Superbad.
Maggie Barker (Jennifer Lawrence, from The Hunger Games trilogy, etc) is a rather immature, selfish and commitment phobic thirtysomething Uber driver who also works part time at a local bar to make ends meet. She lives in the house that her late mother left her in the picturesque coastal resort town of Montauk on Long Island. But when her car is repossessed because of her failure to pay property taxes, Maggie becomes desperate because she needs a car for her work. Her best friend Sara (Natalie Morales) draws her attention to an advertisement on a Craigslist site. The Beckers, a wealthy couple (played by Matthew Broderick and Laura Benanti) have placed an ad looking for someone to “date” their introverted, naïve, virginal 19-year-old son Percy and bring him out of his shell and educate him in the ways of the world before he heads off to college. In exchange she will be given a secondhand Buick Regal. The concerned parents, however, insist that Percy should not learn of the arrangement. Desperate for money Maggie agrees to the arrangement and promises to date Percy, to “date him hard.”
Maggie sets out to seduce the socially awkward Percy (played by Andrew Barth Feldman, from the Broadway production of Dear Evan Hansen) by arranging an “accidental” meeting at the animal shelter where he works as a volunteer over the summer season. But she finds her early attempts at flirting fall flat. Maggie persists with her efforts and learns some important life lessons along the way.
No Hard Feelings has been written by director Gene Stupniski and regular collaborator John Phillips, who previously gave us 2019’s raunchy and very funny Good Boys. The film contains plenty of low brow humour, but it features lots of genuinely funny, laugh-out loud moments along the way. The film has been nicely shot by Emmy Award winning cinematographer Eigil Bryld (In Bruges, etc), who brings the Montauk locations to life, and Russell Barnes’ production design is also good. And, as expected from a film of its kind, there is a great soundtrack of 80s and 90s cuts to enjoy.
The humour though is balanced by a sweetness as Maggie seems to grow fond of the awkward Percy and what starts out as a cynical, mercenary endeavour for Maggie takes a turn as she begins to develop some genuine feelings.
Oscar winner Lawrence has played plenty of edgy roles in her career, but she is not known for her comedic roles. Here she throws caution to the winds with a fearless, committed and brave performance that sees her even go full frontal nude at one stage for a very funny scene set on a beach. The script gives Lawrence plenty of room to demonstrate her sense of comedic timing. As the geeky, painfully shy Percy, Feldman provides the perfect foil for Lawrence and the pair establish a great chemistry and odd couple dynamic. Broderick and Benanti are fine as Percy’s helicopter parents, and Morales provides some big laughs as Maggie’s more grounded best friend. And there is a supporting cast of oddball characters played for laughs by a willing ensemble.
It’s also good to see a laugh-out loud comedy like No Hard Feelings gain a mainstream cinema release rather than be distributed via streaming services like so many other recent comedies because it benefits greatly from the shared experience of the audience laughter.
★★★☆
