No Hard Feelings is a 2023 coming-of-age comedy that stars Oscar-winner Jennifer Lawrence, and details about the cast, story, trailer, and release date have all been announced. The movie revolves around a bankrupt Uber driver, who accepts a wealthy couple’s offer to make their 19-year-old son more socially outgoing, even going to the extent of asking her to date him. With a Red Band trailer offering a taste of its raunchy humor, No Hard Feelings is helmed by writer-director Gene Stupnitsky, who previously wrote Bad Teacher and marked his filmmaking debut with the heavily-acclaimed Good Boys. Stupnitsky also pens the screenplay along with Dirty Grandpa scribe John Phillips.
Apart from Lawrence’s backing as lead actor and producer, No Hard Feeling’s premise is what has been generating interest. As mentioned in Entertainment Weekly, the film’s origins can be traced to a bizarre Craiglist ad that Stupnitsky was sent by producers Marc Provissiero and Naomi Odenkirk. Much like what is shown in No Hard Feelings, the ad was indeed published by a couple wanting a woman to help befriend and date their socially awkward son. However, Lawrence’s new movie is already creating controversial given the age gap between its two main characters and the plot (which has been concerning some audiences).
No Hard Feelings Latest News
The latest news around No Hard Feelings comes in the form of a new trailer. The new No Hard Feelings trailer once again highlights that Jennifer Lawrence is shaking off the more dramatic roles she is known and acclaimed for, fully embracing the comedic role at her disposal. More so than the first trailer which played on the dynamic between Lawrence and costar Andrew Barth Feldman, the new footage seems to be mostly focused on Lawrence's character of Maddie. This is likely an attempt to captialize on Lawrence's star power in the lead role while also showcasing that this is a very different role for her.
No Hard Feelings Release Date
No Hard Feelings is slated for a summer release window with the movie arriving in theaters on June 23, 2023. As of now, the comedy would not face any stiff box office competition as the only other major movie releasing that day will be the Gabrielle Union-fronted romantic comedy The Perfect Find which will go directly on Netflix. If there are any movies that might affect No Hard Feelings’ money-making potential, these would be DC’s The Flash and Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City both of which will release a week before. Similarly, the weekend after No Hard Feelings’ release can be dominated by Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
No Hard Feelings Cast
Jennifer Lawrence leads the No Hard Feelings cast as Maddie, a young Uber driver who is down on her luck and compelled to strike an unlikely deal from a Craiglist ad. Like many of her other movies, Lawrence will also serve as producer. With Lawrence garnering multiple Oscar nominations and even winning one for her performance in Silver Linings Playbook, she has proven her dramatic prowess with hints of deadpan humor. But No Hard Feelings will find her fronting a full-fledged comedy for a change. She told Entertainment Weekly that her performance is inspired by Step Brothers, Dumb and Dumber, and “anything by the Farrelly brothers or Armando Iannucci”.
Joining Lawrence in the lead role is Andrew Barth Feldman as the mild-mannered 19-year-old Percy. who embarks on awkward misadventures with Maddie. Feldman is a relative newcomer to Hollywood having only appeared in the Netflix rom-com A Tourist’s Guide to Love a few months before No Hard Feelings’ release. However, the actor is acclaimed in the musical theater circuit having also played the titular protagonist in Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway for a year. Feldman is joined by Laura Benanti (Nashville, Supergirl, Tick, Tick …Boom!) and Matthew Broderick (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Godzilla, Election) who play his on-screen parents Allison and Laird respectively.
Much like Feldman, Benanti has had significant theater experience, earning herself several Tony nominations during her Broadway career. Broderick, who sports a long gray-haired wig for his role, will be returning to acting after a brief role in 2020’s Lazy Susan. Additionally, Natalie Morales (Parks and Recreation, Language Lessons) and Scott MacArthur (The Mick, The Righteous Gemstones) are cast as Maddie’s friends Sara and Jim. Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear, Andor) plays Maddie’s disgruntled ex Gary. Even though their roles are undisclosed, comedians Hasan Minhaj (Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj) and Kyle Mooney (Saturday Night Live) are also some of the high-profile names roped in for No Hard Feelings.
No Hard Feelings Story Details
Based on the press interviews and the trailer, No Hard Feelings promises to deliver a story that can be compared to raunchy situational comedies like Superbad, Old School and Stupnitsky’s own Good Boys. While the story initially dabbles in Maddie’s financial and personal crisis, matters grow more complicated when she accepts an offer requiring her to seduce the awkward teenager Percy. With his parents hellbent on making him socialize before he starts college, a comedy of errors is expected with Percy even getting protective of Maddie at a point in time. The academically gifted Percy also gets to reveal his emotional vulnerabilities to his new friend.
For the bankrupt New Yorker Maddie, a brand new Buick Regal awaits at the end of the bargain. However, the central friendship in No Hard Feelings seems to offer a life-changing experience for Maddie herself. The plot also has enough space for R-rated over-the-top comedy. Despite No Hard Feelings promising to be a wild ride, the age gap between its protagonists definitely didn't sit well with some audiences. Maybe, the movie actually explores grooming and how problematic it is through a satirical lens but that just seems speculative at this point.
No Hard Feelings Trailer
Following the first trailer for No Hard Feelings premiering on March 9, 2023, the latest trailer debuted on May 25, 2023. Like the first trailer, this new Red Band trailer put the movie's R-rated humor on full display with Lawrence delivering profanity-fiilled dialogue and showcasing the vulagar comedy. These types of adult-aimed comedies have seemingly gone out of fashion in recent years, especially as theatrical releases. Given that the new trailer is leaning heavily into the vibe of this genre, it will be interesting to see how the movie fares and if it will lead to a resurgence in R-rated comedies with big stars.