No Hard Feelings

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Jennifer Lawrence is one of those celebs that has sort of waxed and waned over the years. One second she's Hollywood's sweetheart, the next second she's phoning it in as Mystique in the later 'X-Men' movies, we respect her for furthering her acting career with more serious stuff, but then we miss the fun that she once was, and she doesn't help by saying certain things about female heroes that... I still kinda feel is a foot-in-mouth deal, but let's face it, people were not happy. Well, this may just be a personal thing, but after this, I kinda like her again.

I should probably mention that the film isn't by any means great. It's fairly typical and predictable in its overall execution, but it meets its audience halfway with a bit of realism as things go. It happens to be a pretty funny not-quite-raunchy comedy that won't have anyone laughing to the point of tears, but it deserves a good chuckle here and there for what it's worth. There's a certain chemistry these two main characters have that I couldn't help but appreciate because it looks like such a terrible contrast on the surface. I mean, just look at the accompanying picture. The film does awkward humour pretty well.

The central plot involves Uber Driver/Bartender, Maddie Barker (Lawrence) who is looking at bankruptcy after owing property taxes for her inherited home as well as getting her car repossessed. Desperate to make ends meet, she answers a Craigslist ad of two helicopter parents (Matthew Broderick and  Laura Benanti) requesting a woman, preferably in her 20s, to date their 19-year-old son, Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman), as he has a terrible time socializing and coming out of his shell. The reward for her succeeding in everything is a Buick Regal, which Maddie can use for her Uber driving, and therefore attempt to make ends meet before she loses the house.

This parental need to boost Percy's confidence is because he'll be attending Princeton University in the Fall, and the parents worry that he won't have any sort of a University social life, which, to be fair, is also a reason for attending college or university for most human beings. he has no experience with parties, drinking, drugs (even light ones) or sex, and this is what Maddie is meant to get him through so that he's prepared for the upcoming school season. The big catch? It all has to be done without Percy's knowledge. So basically, this is immediately gonna be one of those situational comedies that seem entirely predictable, and to some degree, a lot of it is.

When I look at a comedy like this, I try to find all of its redeeming qualities. Even though it may feel like a plot that we've seen time and time again (it IS roughly the same core plot to movies like 'Happy Gilmore'), there will be aspects about it that I take positively. Here, nothing really shines quite as much as the chemistry between these two. Maddie is a bit of a b-word, for the most part, and she has to deal with this kid who's significantly younger than her, as well as incredibly shy and sort of odd and, I hate to say it, but wimpy. A little too straight and narrow for anyone's taste. But they do end up meeting in the middle with quite a bit of heart and understanding for each other.

Feldman does such a good job of being the weird, inexperienced teenager that even Michael Cera would look at him and think his roles were "tough-guy" roles in comparison. Thatès the kind of thing that will irritate some, but I had to give him credit for diving into such an embarrassing role. As for Lawrence, she just plain owns it here. I won't go into detail about it, but I will suggest that any controversy behind her leaked photos is pretty much obsolete now, considering one particular scene that I won't spoil for anyone here, complete, because it's a great comedic bit that will catch audiences a bit off-guard.

All in all, it certainly delivered a good chuckle or two. But I do have to admit that this is a film that should be seen as not much more than a fun romp of a comedy for the summer. Rather than comparing its comedy factor to director Gene Stupnitsky's previous work of 'Good Boys', which had me laughing out loud for a lot of it, I'd say it's a bit closer to something like the 'Neighbours' movies. It's fine for what it is, but it's not something I'll be hunting down in the near future because I loved it so much that I need to show my friends. Some may have turned their backs on J-Law since "The Katniss Incident", but I never did. So if there's still a place in your heart for her, give this one a whirl. You might be surprised.

3/5

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