No Hard Feelings

I went into this expecting one of two things, based on all the hype when it was in theaters: 1) A gross-out comedy like There's Something About Mary that relies on fruit so low-hanging it touches the lawn, or 2) A dudebro comedy like The Hangover, only with the woman as the dudebro. So it is to much surprise that, instead, this presents as a romantic comedy with a serious amount of heart and soul ... and Jennifer Lawrence is also caustic and vulgar. But not without purpose. I think that is the key here: this movie's sense of humor is bombastic and crude and has a dash of mean-spiritedness to it ... but there's purpose behind it. Because, really, No Hard Feelings is a look at stunted growth as a human being; how someone can have seemingly all the pieces in place to be a functional adult but for one missing piece, and that one is the most crucial. For Maddie (Lawrence), that piece is an unresolved issue with her father that keeps her rooted in her hometown, unable to move on with her life. She sleeps around, is terrible to most everyone except her two friends, and is in general something of a lost soul. For Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman), who is 19 and just about to graduate and go to Princeton, it is a traumatic experience in junior high that has paralyzed him with fear of joining the real world, to the point where his parents hire Maddie to date and sleep with him just to get him out of his shell. It is in how these two diametrically different people influence each other where the movie's heart shines through. It is how two people bring out the best in each other without even trying. I really loved the comedy here. Sure, it's not clever wit, but it's not trying to be; it's trying to get you to laugh through surprise, and I laughed quite often. Lawrence not only has a knack for comedy, but is willing to throw herself into it at full force, no questions asked. Any "America's Sweetheart" or "clumsy, quirky, cute" image she may have come into this movie with is tossed out the window here. She is bold and brash and gives more than most actresses would. I can scarcely think of another actress who would willingly do the beach scene. When you watch it, you'll understand why. As much as this is a two person movie, it's Lawrence who holds this thing down most of all. Being a romantic comedy, it does tend to get formulaic in some spots, especially being part of that subgenre where the couple is together by some deceptive means (like She's All That or 10 Things I Hate About You). Yes, there's the "we're actually beginning to like each other" stuff, the accidental reveal of the original deception, and the 3rd act argument. But it also subverts some of the tropes with some clever twists, especially the ending. And, again, there is genuine heart to this. When the two main characters realize how they've influenced each other and how that reflects on who they've been up to that point, it feels real. That's a credit to everyone, from direction to script to acting. I went into this being cautious but hopeful. I came out of it with a movie I could easily watch again. It scratches just about every itch one could want without overplaying its hand or overstaying its welcome.