REVIEW: Jennifer Lawrence works too hard for a used car in ‘No Hard Feelings’

Jennifer Lawrence – working harder than she should – stars as a Montauk native who’s behind on her taxes and doesn’t have a car to earn Uber money. When she sees an online ad offering a car in exchange for “friendship,” she jumps – and we’re off.

The rich couple (Matthew Broderick and Laura Benanti) behind the ad are worried about their son, Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman), and broker a deal – the car for “experience.” They think he’s too sheltered and needs to see the world before going off to Princeton. A summer of wild partying, they figure, will rough him up. Since there’s a Buick in the picture, she’s game. Then, it’s just a matter of time before the two meet and begin “dating.” Never mind she’s 32 and he’s 19. Everyone figures it’s OK – except Percy.

He’s the voice of reason in this and, frankly, the only one who questions whether the situation is a bit, well, odd. When he begins to warm to Lawrence’s Maddie Barker, he’s not sure how to relate to her, but he likes her.

The two go through some “hard R” situations (she takes after a group of bullies who try to steal their clothes while skinny dipping) and have a shot a riding the windshield after trouble ensues. They’re good together, but director Gene Stupnitsky doesn’t offer enough evidence of a friendship. Much is built around those made-for-the-trailer scenes that look fun. We don’t get the smaller moments that suggest Percy can finally open up to someone. When Stupnitsky tosses in another “handler” (played by Kyle Mooney), we’re lost. Has this gimmick been tried before? Did the guy get a Jeep?

Maddie has locals who try to talk her out of the situation but she presses on, attends parties and realizes she likes the kid. Feldman acts like a teenager who hasn’t really talked with an adult. If Percy’s parents had spent more time getting to know him, they wouldn’t have had to put a car on the line. He’s smart and talented (listen while he sings a great cover of Hall and Oates’ “Maneater”), far more likely to succeed in college than most of the attendees at a Princeton party. That aspect, however, doesn’t get much exposure. The parents get their obligatory scenes and check out.

Lawrence, however, deserves a stronger script to really justify the work she’s asked to put in. She can bring the laughs (Feldman can, too), but she’s expected to do too much. When she makes a decision about life, it’s too little too late.

“No Hard Feelings” doesn’t belong in the “Risky Business” category. It doesn’t even have the charm of Broderick’s “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”

If Percy is missing anything, it’s attitude. Giving him some might have saved this.

The Journal’s Top Stories for the Week of June 18, 2023