Nostalgia for R-rated, raunchy comedies feels at an all-time high and No Hard Feelings promised to deliver a return to form for studio comedies, but unfortunately, the film falls flat as it struggles to find a space between raunchy comedy and a heartfelt friendship tale. 

Studio comedies full of innuendo, nudity, and the filthiest jokes imaginable are the type of films that feel they’ve moved to streaming for good. The promise of a studio putting a hard R comedy into theaters starring an Oscar winning movie star felt too good to be true and well, perhaps it was. No Hard Feelings is unfortunately just an unimaginative romantic comedy, with a bad script that’s more heartfelt with profanity and violence sprinkled in.

Jennifer Lawrence plays Montauk, Long Island Uber driver Maddie, a young woman in her early thirties with barely anything in her bank account to pay her taxes to keep her home and even fewer options to earn more after her car gets repossessed. With no prospects, Maddie answers a Craigslist ad posted by the wealthy helicopter parents, Laird (Matthew Broderick) and Allison (Laura Benanti), of nineteen-year-old Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman). The domineering couple fear he is too introverted and needs to be more experienced to attend Princeton University in the fall. The couple is looking for someone to “date” their son and reward the couple offers is an old Buick.

Despite being a little older than the applicant Percy’s parents are looking for, Maddie, convinces the eccentric couple that her ‘life experience’ makes her the perfect candidate to date their son’s “brains out.” Why does a profanely wealthy couple even an old, used Buick in their possession? Why not just offer cold hard cash? Sure, it’s a romantic comedy film that doesn’t need to have an exactly believable plot, but it just feels strange on top of “date our young son” to have so many questions. 

The ridiculous premise diminishes any authentic moments Lawrence teases out of the insipid script. Throughout the film there are so many missed opportunities to dive into so many metaphors brewing on the surface. Both Lawrence and Feldman are better than the film, and any positives that No Hard Feelings has are only due to their performances. 

No Hard Feelings offers a few tender moments between Maddie and Percy, as the film is more so a heartfelt tale between the two, but most of the jokes repeat themselves to dismal effect.  There’s a running theme that involves Maddie behaving in obviously sexy manners while Percy remains unsure of how to react or just oblivious. Other jokes seem to exist if only as setups for later callbacks and just fall flat. 

The trailer and promotion for the film tried to call back to the early 2000s comedy era, but the film never reaches those heights. No Hard Feelings isn’t even a film focused on a sexually liberated, emotionally underdeveloped mid 30s woman struggling; the film struggles between Maddie’s place in the film and the brewing coming-of-age tale from Percy. At times, No Hard Feelings wants to scratch the surface of what Young Adult did (or even what Trainwreck tried to do), but without a woman writing Maddie, the film never gets to the soul of her character other than she must save her house! She must leave Montauk to become herself! 

The ludicrous situations in the film are obviously meant to be funny, but they just feel manufactured with almost no build-up to come across outrageous for reaction. Nostalgia for R-rated, raunchy comedies feels at an all-time high and No Hard Feelings promised to deliver a return to form for studio comedies, but unfortunately, the film falls flat as it struggles to find a space between raunchy comedy and a heartfelt friendship tale.

Grade: C-

Oscars Prospects:
Likely: None
Should be Considered: None

Release Date: June 23, 2023
Where to Watch: In Theaters