No Hard Feelings
2023
*½
Director: Gene Stupnitsky
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Andrew Barth Feldman, Laura Benanti, Natalie Morales, Matthew Broderick, Scott MacArthur, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Kyle Mooney, Hasan Minhaj
Maddie is an aimless and promiscuous 32-year-old native of Montauk, Long Island who accepts a wealthy couple’s peculiar offer. In exchange for a car, she is to seduce and deflower their socially awkward 19-year-old son before he heads off to Princeton. Whoever thought this baffling and ill-judged premise would work, should be hanged. This is a typical modern day comedy that starts with a raunchy and irreverent concept. However, Maddie is never forced to question the moral implications of her actions, because the movie ultimately lacks the courage to follow through with its central conceit. The humour is consistently cringey rather than funny. Jennifer Lawrence tries her darndest in the lead, but her character is annoying and unpleasant, until the sickeningly sentimental ending turns her into a saint.
