No Hard Feelings

The latest film out is Jennifer Lawrence’s, No Hard Feelings. Not only are we reminded of how amazing she is as an actress but we also get to see her comedic timing. The film was fun and funny and exactly what I expected it to be. It was a rom com that was exactly what it branded itself as. Though it followed the typical formula it was still a good time.

I want to say right off the bat that I love that we are returning to a time where movies are only an hour and 45 minutes. I truly believe that is peak storytelling. Sure there are good movies that are longer but if you NEED 3+ hours to tell your story, and it isn’t an adaptation, then you are not good at your job. Films are by definition not serialized if you need hours and hours to tell your story then write a fucking TV show.

In its tight hour and 45 minutes No Hard Feelings manages to fit in a classic rom com formula and some seriously good acting. Now the main premise was a classic but also kind of a role reversal, the main female character was bribed to date the main male character so it's got a 10 Things I Hate About You feeling to it but reversed. In fact it shares a lot of role reversals with that movie. Though the movie was formulaic it was still entertaining, and its formulaic nature also made it feel familiar and therefore comfortable.

Now Jennifer Lawrence has rarely taken purely comedic roles but even in roles like this she manages to show her range. There is a scene toward the end of Act 2 where Percy and Maddie are on a date and Percy is playing the piano and the camera lingers on Maddie for a little while and we get to watch Jennifer Lawrence go through like 5 different emotions over like 30 seconds. With very subtle but clear facial changes Jennifer Lawrence once again proves what an amazing actress she is. I feel like because Hollywood had her in our faces a lot for a while after The Hunger Games came out people got tired of her. But she never stopped being an amazing and deserving Oscar award winning actress.

Something I appreciated about the movie as well was the ending. Maddie and Percy didn’t end up together, cause that would have been weird. They didn’t end with them never talking to each other again, cause though that would have been realistic it would have sucked, they ended up being friends with Maddie moving on with her life and Percy going to college. It was the best case scenario for them.

One of the things the internet makes fun of the most is when grown adults try and write teenagers of present day. Its always outdated slang and whatever old person bias they hold against the next generation. But this movie actually did a pretty good job of representing the current state of teenagers and young adults.

Overall I think the movie was funny, entertaining and a great use of romantic comedy tropes and formulas. The movie was nowhere near groundbreaking or heartfelt but it was funny and entertaining and I think we need a new wave of rom coms, they’ve fallen into underrated territory when they once housed some of the best actresses. I think people like Jennifer Lawrence and Zendaya would be amazing rom com actresses. It is the perfect summer movie.