No Hard Feelings Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

No Hard Feelings Blu-ray Movie Review

"The best part about getting older is not having to care what people think..."

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown September 9, 2023

Who needs a laugh? I need a laugh. And what better way to find 'em than with two new demographically specific comedies like insufferably relatable (often lovable) actress Jennifer Lawrence's safe and saccharine sexcapade, No Hard Feelings, and yo bro comedian Bert Kreischer's middling manchild romp, The Machine. Unfortunately, you'd do well to move along. There's not much to see here. Or there. Forced, generic and manufactured to the extreme, neither film serves up the surprises, genre-skewing punches or, more importantly, all-coveted laughs comedy fans long for. And I get it. There will be those who love one or the other, or both frankly. Enjoy watching every interview where Lawrence cracks herself up with whatever semi-charming ADHD-riddled burst of bluntness that comes out of her mouth? Welcome to a sweet, strangely limp coming-of-age story that's too scared to offend -- or perhaps smudge the Oscar winner's weird-girl-next-door image -- to really work. Can't get enough of Kreischer's standup? Welcome to the culmination of his shirtless, drunk-on-his-own-lunkhead schtick. Comedy is a famously subjective genre, I'll grant you. One I've been accused of being too hard on. (Which isn't too far from the truth.) But come on, Hollywood. You can do better than these predictable, palid, phone-in shoulder shrugs.

Directed and co-written by Gene Stupnitsky ("Good Boys", "Bad Teacher"), "No Hard Feelings" introduces Maddie (Jennifer Lawrence), a down on her luck Uber driver who thinks she’s found the answer to her financial troubles when she discovers an intriguing job listing: wealthy helicopter parents (Matthew Broderick and Laura Benanti) looking for someone to, ahem, "date" their introverted 19-year-old son, Percy (Broadway's Andrew Barth Feldman), and bring him out of his shell before he leaves for college. But awkward Percy proves to be more of a challenge than Maddie expects. With time running out, she races to bed, erm... "charm" Percy before she loses it all. "No Hard Feelings" also stars Natalie Morales, Scott MacArthur, Hasan Minhaj, SNL's Kyle Mooney, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Zahn McClarnon.

I fell asleep a third of the way through No Hard Feelings. I never, and I mean never, fall asleep during a movie. But I thought, freak accident. I'm too tired to give the semi-raunchy fun a fair shot. So I went to bed, gave it two days and returned nice and refreshed. Cue... not much really. For a movie hyped up by its marketing to be a throwback to the R-rated sex comedies of old, featuring an actress not known for going foul and proud on screen, you'd think Feelings would be a boundary-pushing, trope-flipping, gender-tuning blast. Instead the film turns out to be a much softer, far more reserved outing than fans of the genre typically crave. It's not a bad flick. Just too ordinary to make its awkward, borderline prostituted pairing between a 19-year-old geek and a 32-year-old sexpot register with much more than an "aw, look at those hearts of gold."

Thankfully Lawrence is having a blast. I don't know that the script serves her as well as her inherent charisma and deep well of energy, but she certainly puts her back into it, chomping down on every long-gestating joke and chewing the scenery with the best of them. Feldman matches her amusingly uncomfortable aggression with passive-aggressive aplomb, and the two are -- I'd argue -- perfectly cast for the story that lies before them. But again, I kept feeling the urge to bark at the screen, "pick a lane." No Hard Feelings either needs to dial down the raunch and go PG-13 sweet and sugary or amp up the R-rated shenanigans and bear some teeth. It lives instead in the middle of the road, harmless and relatively enjoyable but too bland to be remembered months from now, much less years. The supporting cast is sleepy and doesn't bring much to the rompiness of the romp, and the situational aspects of the comedy are largely forced and screenwritten within an inch of their life. Feelings doesn't live up to its own ambitions, retreating for safer territory instead of plunging into dangerous waters. But in an era where comedy is struggling to figure out where the line of offensiveness is and isn't, that's hardly a surprise.

No Hard Feelings Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

No Hard Feelings looks great courtesy of Sony's surprisingly filmic 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer. Colors are natural and lifelike, with convincing skintones, striking primaries and deep black levels. Contrast is dialed in beautifully as well, and detail is unhindered. It doesn't have the crisp, digital sheen of other comedies (another element of its throwback ambitions) but that's a blessing rather than a curse. Edges are clean, fine textures are nicely resolved, and delineation is unhindered (minus a few late-night skinny dipping shots that struggle). Moreover, I didn't catch sight of any unsightly anomalies. Film grain is light though a bit inconsistent, but again, it suits the tone of the proceedings. No Hard Feelings scores a win in high definition.

No Hard Feelings Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Sony's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track isn't quite as impressive as its video presentation but No Hard Feelings still offers a solid mix. Dialogue remains crystal clear throughout, even when songs surge or noisy, shouty antics ensue, and is neatly nestled at the front of the soundfield. Directional effects are accurately placed and fairly engaging, though the experience isn't quite as immersive as other comedies. The rear speakers pipe up when hilarity erupts but die down and nearly disappear when things get chatty (which is often). Scenes like a late-second-act frat party offer a decent sense of "being there", despite being the exception rather than the norm. Likewise, low-end support isn't very notable, but it does get the job done. Ultimately, though, Sony's Master Audio track is a reasonably lively addition to the film that captures the spirit of the original mix well.

No Hard Feelings Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• A Little Wrong: Making No Hard Feelings (HD, 6 minutes) - On-set chemistry, Stupnitsky's breezy leadership and the fun of R-rated silliness are front and center in this short, standard behind-the-scenes featurette.

• A Motley Crew: Meet the Characters (HD, 7 minutes) - Just what the title says it is: a studio EPK introducing the cast and giving key players a chance to talk (briefly) about their characters.

• Outtakes & Bloopers (HD, 4 minutes) - The cast cracks each other up.

• Sony Previews (HD)

No Hard Feelings Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

You could do better than No Hard Feelings but you could certainly do a whole lot worse. If it was a touch softer or went a good bit harder, there might be something here. Alas, the filmmakers tried to thread the needle and came up short. Sony's Blu-ray release fortunately delivers the AV goods with an excellent video presentation and solid DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track. But disappoints with very little in the way of supplemental content.