‘No Hard Feelings’ is Hard-R Exposure for Jennifer Lawrence

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Rating: 2.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Jennifer Lawrence doesn’t hold back and gives it her all in the “Hard R” rated sex comedy “No Hard Feelings.” But despite her herculean efforts, the film only manages the occasional tee-hee when it should be scoring guffaws. You’ve got to hand it to Lawrence for going all in, I just wish the script rewarded her efforts.

Lawrence is Maddie, is a young woman facing financial problems in the seaside resort playground of Montauk, New York. She ‘s an UBER driver in danger of losing her family home to rising property taxes, and has lost her necessary car to repossession. In need of new wheels, she comes across an online ad from a couple of wealthy parents asking for a woman to date their shy reserved son Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman) to prepare him for the world before he heads off to college.

No Hard Feelings
Photo credit: Sony Pictures Releasing

Maddie pulls out all the stops as she attempts to woo the introverted 19-year-old, first with tight dresses, and flirty come ons. Then she resorts to more forward methods in an effort to spark a sexual awakening in Percy. So she picks him up at the animal shelter where he volunteers in a borrowed van, takes his phone and takes him to her house for some bedroom education … which ends in predictable disaster.

Co-written and directed by a writer from “The Office,” Gene Stupnitsky, the film aims to be the awkward and cringey story mining comedy gold. It is not shy about nudity, most notably a scene where Lawrence-as-Maddie convinces Percy to go skinny dipping and then goes commando on a group of teens who stole their clothes. This sequence scores more for its shock value of seeing a fully nude Jennifer Lawrence than its actual jokes, but more nudity isn’t doesn’t necessarily make it any funnier. The film follows that up with a limp sequence involving a fully nude Percy riding on top of a speeding car.

In addition to the big sex comedy set pieces, you’ve also got the makings of a dramedy about natives of a resort town being pushed out of their own community by the evils of gentrification and ultra-wealthy New Yorkers. But the attempts at social commentary are largely toothless, and not that funny either. Natalie Morales and Scott MacArthur score some mild chuckles portraying Meddie’s best friends, while Matthew Broderick evokes “Sad Dad” energy as Percy’s Papa, and Laura Benanti is the hovering mother hen as Percy’s über-rich parents.

Jennifer Lawrence & Andrew Barth Feldman in ‘No Hard Feelings’
Photo credit: Sony Pictures Releasing

The story is a bit predictable with Percy and Lawrence developing chemistry, and then he starts to crush hard on her, while she’s looking to keep her distance so she can get the job done and get out.

And again, it’s JLaw putting in the effort and the script eventually letting her down. It’s a bit like having a world class cellist surrounded by a lousy orchestra. She’s fine, but there’s only so much she can do to wring laughs where there are none.

By SPIKE WALTERS Contributor HollywoodChicago.com spike@hollywoodchicago.com