No Hard Feelings

Hey everyone and welcome today we will be talking about the film No Hard Feelings. Fun Fact: Andrew Barth Feldman, who plays Percy, actually goes to Harvard and had to take time off to film this movie. This film came out in 2023 and stars Jennifer Lawrence, Andrew Barth Feldman, and Natalie Morales. It was directed by Gene Stupnitsky. So without further ado let’s get right into it.

No hard feeling follows Maddie who is on the brink of losing her home and is desperate for money. She finds an ad from these rich parents who want someone to date their son and she thinks she may be the best match. She finds out fake dating Percy will be harder than she thought but also learns so much by doing so.

No Hard Feelings is a comedy with a little bit of romance. It has similar vibes to Bridesmaids, The Proposal, or 10 Things I Hate About You.

No Hard Feelings reminded me of the rom-coms we got in the 2000s and early 2010s and really felt like a blast from the past. the story is something we’ve seen before where someone takes a bet or payment to date, someone, the person finds out, and things get awkward, and then they smooth it out somehow, but it's still entertaining to watch. The film takes some of the things we loved in those films, and one makes it more modern, and two figures out how to make the ending just as enjoyable as the journey there.

Jennifer Lawrence was great as Maddy. I love how angry she is at summer visitors but also how passionate she is at trying to save the last piece of her mom. It was funny to see her attempt to date this guy and how strong she came off in the beginning. She nailed the comedic and the more dramatic portions of this film and made the film even more enjoyable. Also, that scene when she is beating up those kids who stole hers and Percy's clothes while skinny dipping was hilarious.

Sarah and Jim are definitely the friends that you need in your life. Jim was funny, but I love how Sarah pushed Maddy to do better things. It may not have always been what Maddy wanted to hear, but she knew that Maddy staying in this small town wasn’t the best thing for her and really encouraged her to seek something different, which is truly what Maddy needed. When I looked back, I noticed that Maddy really only complained about the town, and the only thing that was keeping her there was the house that she was struggling to keep.

Also love that there was a dog who was addicted to cocaine and would go crazy when it heard the word and how Maddy ended up adopting it.

Andrew Barth Feldman was as hilarious as Percy. It was funny to see how much he didn’t know from being so sheltered and how, with the help of Maddy, he was trying to be more open to exploring things. As we learn more about him, we learn how thoughtful he is because he remembers stuff like Maddy not going to prom and the man-eater song and makes Maddy realize some stuff she didn’t before. It was funny how he had to keep being reminded that he was an adult, but every time he tried to do an adult thing, he failed.

This movie was the opposite of a hallmark movie because instead of going to a small town and settling down at the end, this film starts in a small town and ends with the leads leaving. I really enjoyed that they ended as friends and not lovers, which is great because even though there were feelings there, they both had things that they wanted to accomplish in life but still helped each other. I always feel like when we see movies like this with a bet to date someone, they always fall in love at the end, and it's refreshing to see that it doesn’t have to end in love but also that just because it doesn’t end in love doesn’t mean they still can’t be friends.

My favorite part of this film was seeing how much the characters grew by the end of the film. Percy opened up way more than he had at the beginning of the film and started realizing that for him to be an adult, he can’t have his parents there trying to fix all his mistakes, and he has to succeed and fail on his own. Maddy realized she could move on from the city and be happy. She realized that keeping the house was not what her mom wanted but instead just wanted her to be happy. It was great to see their characters grow and figure out that it was time for them to take a new journey in their lives and live a little more.

No Hard Feelings is a great movie that balances the heartfelt and the comedy. I really enjoyed the cast, and the movie had me laughing from beginning to end. If you haven’t seen No Hard Feelings, then I suggest you check it out.