Yes, the plot of No Hard Feelings sounds inherently silly — girl is broke, girl needs car, girl makes deal with boy’s parents to take his virginity for the price of a Buick Regal (when has that ever, ever happened?). But underneath the C-bombs, wiener jokes and slapstick stunts, there’s an unexpectedly heartwarming tale of friendship, and what it means to grow up.
Whilst the set-up implies Percy is the one who’ll be learning the language of love from Maddie, quelle surprise, turns out they both have a lot to teach each other. Andrew Feldman impresses in his first major role, and is genuinely touching as the shy youngster; a rule-follower whose naivety is a product of his parents’ over-coddling, and who breaks out in anxious hives at the first sign of romantic intimacy. He’s a character of contradictions, however — the fact his parents would enlist help from Maddie in this way is a stretch to begin with, but to see Percy’s relative ease with her implies he’s not as socially inept as that deal believably suggests.
Jennifer Lawrence is a riot.
Let loose to be her most comedic self for the first time, Jennifer Lawrence is a riot. Her confidence is palpable, and she proves herself quite the physical clown — Maddie’s exploits include struggling to roller-skate up a hill, getting accidentally punched in the throat, and wrestling with would-be thieves whilst fully naked on the beach. She really commits, and looks to be having a great time while doing so. Her dramatic chops are showcased too, as Maddie’s growing connection with Percy sees her open up about her familial trauma and commitment issues.
With the exception of some one-liners that work entirely due to quality delivery from Lawrence and the cast, No Hard Feelings blows most of its funny moments in the trailer. There are farcical set-pieces throughout, but they don’t build up enough momentum to elicit a true belly laugh — more like a good chuckle. It’s enough to keep you interested, though, and a supporting cast including Natalie Morales and Scott MacArthur as Maddie’s surfer friends, plus a wigged-up, linen-sporting Matthew Broderick as Percy’s dad Laird (a name that inspires a genuinely funny exchange), help boost the laughs across the board.
The age difference between 19-year-old Percy and 32-year-old Maddie is undeniably icky, but it’s 100 per cent meant to be, and something the film constantly addresses — Maddie is frequently confronted by the generational gap between her and Percy’s peers, but her immaturity means she also often seems childlike by comparison. The film also gives us far more to chew on thematically than it actually needed to: Percy’s self-imposed isolation speaks to a very Gen-Z kind of anxiety; Maddie’s only in dire financial straits because of the gentrification of her hometown. There’s nothing surprising about how No Hard Feelings plays out, but it invokes some pretty nice feelings along the way.
