No Hard Feelings Footage Reaction: Can Jennifer Lawrence Bring Back The Raunchy Comedy? [CinemaCon 2023]
Sony is in the midst of unveiling new footage from its upcoming films at CinemaCon today, and /Film's Ben Pearson is on the ground in Las Vegas covering all things new and exclusive. Sneak peeks for surefire blockbusters like "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" were expected ahead of the event, but audiences also ended up getting a first look at some wild cards — and "wild card" is definitely an accurate description for "No Hard Feelings."
Jennifer Lawrence's return to comedy is a bawdy, R-rated film from "Good Boys" writer-director Gene Stupnitsky, and it's already kickstarted plenty of conversation ahead of its June release. The movie follows Maddie (Lawrence), an Uber driver who decides to take on an unorthodox gig dating the geeky teenage son of a couple (Matthew Broderick and Laura Benanti) who are worried about his lack of social life. Andrew Barth Feldman co-stars as Percy, the recent high school graduate who has no clue why Maddie keeps trying to "date his brains out."
The first trailer for "No Hard Feelings" felt like a throwback to the ethically dubious sex comedies of the early 2000s, and mixed social media responses to the trailer have noted as much. With brand new footage debuting at CinemaCon, however, audiences got the chance to see for themselves whether "No Hard Feelings" looks like a flop, a hit, or something in between. Here's what /Film saw.
'I won't bite, unless you want me to'
The scene shown is a continuation of one of the most memed moments from the trailer, Jennifer Lawrence's Maddie entering a pet shop and asking, "Mind if I touch your wiener?" It's a sex comedy so of course this is a double entendre, and she's referring to a dachshund. She is on a mission to seduce Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman), who is working at the shop. She asks if she can adopt whichever dog is "the most f***ed up," and he suggests a dog who got addicted to cocaine.
He brings her into an office to fill out adoption paperwork, and she basically throws herself at him, but Percy isn't having it. He's very analytical and not reading any of her signals. This tracks with the trailer's reaction on social media, with many believing he might be asexual or somewhere on the Autism spectrum. It'll be interesting to see how "No Hard Feelings" establishes his inability to pick up on what she's laying down. He apologizes for "prying," meaning, asking the necessary questions for her to adopt the dog.
She flirts back by insinuating she wants him to pry her open, but again, he's not having it. She eventually offers him a ride home and makes a crack to Percy's coworker. "You can finish alone, right? Bet you do it all the time." She then goes back on the flirtatious prowl, telling Percy "I won't bite unless you want me to." He's still not interested, not even after she plays "The Stroke" on the radio to try and get him thinking about receiving the ol' fashioned.
Percy does eventually realize she's not driving him in the right direction home, and looks back in her van to see some weird stuff, like a dangling machete for some reason? I'm sure that'll be explained in the film. Anyway, he thinks he's being kidnapped so he rightfully maces her. According to Pearson, "Jennifer Lawrence is putting her full movie star charisma on display," and from the sounds of the room, "No Hard Feelings" has the potential to be a very funny, rare adult-aimed comedy.
"No Hard Feelings" hits theaters on June 23, 2023.