Quartile rating: 6/10 · 2 ratings
On the brink of losing her childhood home, Maddie discovers an intriguing job listing: wealthy helicopter parents looking for someone to “date” their introverted 19-year-old son, Percy, before he leaves for college. To her surprise, Maddie soon discovers the awkward Percy is no sure thing.
No Hard Feelings is a reasonably entertaining R-rated comedy that leans into its raunchy premise with some genuine wit. Jennifer Lawrence is committed and charismatic, elevating material that could easily have been routine. The plot has a fun hook but follows a fairly predictable romcom arc — Maddie schemes, grows attached, gets caught, reconciles — with few real surprises. Cinematography is functional at best, standard summer-comedy visual grammar with nothing distinctive. The ending resolves things neatly but without much emotional punch, feeling rushed and unearned. Novelty is slightly above average for the genre thanks to the specific craigslist/helicopter-parenting premise and Lawrence's willingness to go physically and comedically all-in, though the late-coming-of-age beats are familiar.