No Hard Feelings

No Hard Feelings is one of those easy-breezy, semi-raunchy R-rated comedies that you enjoy a single viewing - and maybe on background TV down the road - but ultimately doesn't have much staying power. 

The big draw with this one is that it features A-lister Jennifer Lawrence coming back from an acting hiatus, immediately adding a bit of a "must see" quality to it. Unfortunately, as good as Lawrence is, and as funny as she can be, it doesn't help the screenplay or script be a classic a la Hangover, or something of the like. 

No Hard Feelings is a funny movie, there's no question there, with a handful of scenes being pretty outrageous. It has memorable characters in Lawrence's Maddie and Andrew Feldman's Percy (as well as several side characters) and their somewhat sketchy relationship has its cute moments, ultimately landing in a thoughtful ending. There's enough backstory to each of our two anchors that they feel fleshed out enough to have motives and the comedy has a decent hit-rate, thanks largely to comedic timing and delivery from Lawrence and Feldman vs. the script itself. They dramatically elevate the material here, almost through sheer force.  

The screenplay/plot is probably where I have the biggest issues as the overall tone felt inconsistent, plus I was getting whiplash from character motivations that change abruptly. I get it's a comedy and it needs to be light and not bogged down with plot logistics, but there are also more tactful ways to change a character's motives/attitudes. And certain plot elements - like Percy being a hyper-talented music genius - are completely dropped despite feeling like huge plot moments. 

No Hard Feelings is a perfect reason why I started these shorter "Rapid Reviews". There's not much more to say about it and you're likely to have a good time if you see it, but you're not missing anything if you decide to skip it. The movie owes a lot to its A-list star and her talented co-star because without them it would be very average. 

Rapid Rath's Review Score | 6.5/10