Parents' Guide to

No Hard Feelings

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Raunchy, earnest comedy about fake romance; swearing, sex.

Movie R 2023 103 minutes
No Hard Feelings Movie Poster: Jennifer Lawrence holds on to Andrew Barth Feldman

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 16+

Based on 13 parent reviews

Jo R.
Jo R. Adult
July 8, 2023
age 18+

NOT FOR KIDS

Not for kids at all. What is going on with Common Sense Media? Full nudity and a story about someone trying to trick them into sexual relations in order for money? Not a movie I’d want to take my children to see.
Nicole M.
Nicole M. Adult
October 26, 2023
age 18+

This is a movie on how to be a sexual predator.Not funny.

this film would never be made the other way around; the optics of a man in his 30s trying as many pushy tactics as he can think of to get into the underwear of a teenage girl would not be good. But while there’s a definite Hollywood precedent for those sorts of films, I’m not sure that the way to level the playing field is to flip the script gender-wise. It’s too simplistic and only creates more problems, reinforcing the toxic masculinity that tells teenage boys that being a virgin is the worst thing imaginable. This movie was creepy and completely uncomfortable to watch. This is social engineering society into believing this behavior is acceptable and funny.
See all 13 parent reviews

What's the Story?

NO HARD FEELINGS is a broad comedy about Maddie Barker (Jennifer Lawrence), a 32-year-old woman from Montauk, New York, whose car is repossessed because she hasn't paid property taxes on the home she inherited from her late mother. Because she only has 90 days to make it right, Maddie is desperate to supplement her bartending income with her Uber gig -- but she needs a car. When her best friend Sara (Natalie Morales) points out a Craigslist ad offering a free Buick sedan to a woman in her mid-20s if she'll "date" the poster's inexperienced 19-year-old son before he heads to college, Maddie figures she's got little to lose. After a quick meeting with helicopter parents Laird (Matthew Broderick) and Allison (Laura Benanti), Maddie accepts the confidential gig and sets off to meet and seduce their virginal, introverted son, Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman), who volunteers at the local animal shelter. But Percy isn't the kind of guy who's interested in a one-night stand, and he's so alarmed at this beautiful older woman's assertive behavior that he maces her. Eventually, the two have more dates and get to know each other, causing Maddie to regret deceiving Percy.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (13 ):
Kids say (11 ):

This is an uneven but amusing comedy about relationships, friendship, and first love. Lawrence, no stranger to playing down-on-her-luck characters, leans completely into her comedic wheelhouse to play Maddie, a commitment-phobe who's not a sex worker but is open to having sex with a younger guy in exchange for a car. After all, she needs the car to work, and she needs to work to make sure the bank -- and rich summer jerks -- don't get ahold of the house where she was raised. Lawrence's performance is buoyed by her chemistry with Morales, who also has finely honed comedic abilities. Feldman is believable as a neurotic, sweet, sheltered young man whose parents have hovered so much that they're misguidedly trying to oversee his love life. Percy and Maddie make an unlikely pair, but that's a big part of the comedy -- both in her context of a local pub and also in his, a swanky party with Princeton-bound seniors. Despite her beauty, there's no doubt that Maddie doesn't belong at a party with 17- to 19-year-olds.

Writer-director Gene Stupnitsky mixes the raunch with earnestness, but he doesn't fully commit to either style. The result isn't always effective, but No Hard Feelings manages to capture how two people with different backgrounds and levels of experience can still connect in a way that's not solely about the physical. Sure, the jokes are mostly sexual, but the story's heart is about relationship building, not some American Pie-style quest about virginity loss. After all, in this movie, it's Percy's parents who want him to get some, while he's looking for much more than a hookup. This isn't the sort of movie that demands a rewatch, but it's funny (and cute) enough to offer a unique twist on the stereotypical coming-of-age comedy.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Percy's approach to sex and relationships -- versus Maddie's -- in No Hard Feelings. Which of them do you tend to agree with more? Why?

  • What's the movie's message about "helicopter parents" and parenting children over 18? Do you think Percy has a healthy relationship with his parents?

  • How does the movie depict drinking and recreational drug use? Are there any consequences for either, or both? Why does that matter?

  • Talk about gender roles in the movie. Why is a virginal 19-year-old boy considered funny? Would this story have worked if the main characters' genders had been swapped? Why, or why not?

  • How do characters demonstrate compassion and empathy?

Movie Details

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