On the brink of losing her home, Maddie finds an intriguing job listing: helicopter parents looking for someone to bring their introverted 19-year-old son out of his shell before college. She has one summer to make him a man or die trying.
The trailer for “No Hard Feelings” looks highly promising despite its tortured premise – helicopter parents hiring a somewhat older woman to bring their introverted 19-year-old son out of his shell before he begins his studies at Princeton in the fall. Jennifer Lawrence as Maddie Barker seems a perfect fit to get things rolling and keep them moving. Unfortunately, most, if not all, of the good scenes appear in the previews. The rest of the hour and forty-three minutes utterly fail to deliver anything resembling an engaging comedy.
The film opens with Maddie’s boyfriend Gary (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) repossessing her car. She nearly talks him out of doing so until her “second cousin” (Christian Galvis) emerges from her house, toned and tan, in his super tight black briefs that leave little to the imagination.
Desperate not to lose her house for lack of transportation to work, Maddie answers an ad by Laird and Allison Becker (Matthew Broderick and Laura Benanti) to “date” their son Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman). If she succeeds in having sex with him, Percy’s parents will give her a Buick Regal. She responds that she will date his brains out – one of the few good lines in the film.
Maddie’s friends Jim (Scott MacArthur) and Sara (Natalie Morales) offer brief bits of mildly comical advice about approaching her challenge. However, their amusing counsel is not nearly enough to gain traction.
Part of the problem is that Percy is a stick in the mud. While that’s clearly intended, his persona comes off as far more exasperating than humorous. His unconvincing rebuffs to Lawrence’s charms will have most of the men in the audience scratching their heads. Probably some of the women too.
The film’s ending makes some feeble attempts at tugging the heartstrings, but the damage has already been done by then. Though Lawrence earnestly embraces the role, her enthusiasm is not enough to carry the day.
Co-written by Gene Stupnitsky and John Phillips and directed by Stupnitsky, “No Hard Feelings” falls short, so consistently, it’s a wonder the production was greenlit at all. The film was likely only made because Lawrence agreed to the project. This entry into the summer movie sweepstakes contains way too much unfunny slapstick and far too little wit. “No Hard Feelings” presents a strained and directionless narrative and, in the process, largely squanders Lawrence’s formidable acting talent.
In Theaters Friday, June 23rd
