`No Hard Feelings` Review

Logline:

After an Uber driver on the verge of losing her house, gets her car repossessed. She resorts to taking a job dating a 19 year old boy and getting him out of his shell in exchange for a Buick enclave.

By: Phoenix McCall

Am I Seeing Double?

Strengths:

a New England town, during the summer. This classic setting can be seen in Jaws, the film even alluding to it as Jennifer Lawerence’s character, Maddie, begins pursuing the young awkward boy, Percy, she has been hired to bring out of his shell. This is also the setting of one of my favorite movies One Crazy Summer with John Cossack, Hot Summer Nights with Timothee Chalamet, and countless other films. The New England beach town setting is not only a common setting for many summer films, but helps establish the mood through familiarity and the overall theme of the movie. When watching a movie, or even TV episode such as Gossip Girl’s summer Hampton episodes, set in these towns you know that it will be a break from the mundane everyday life; a vacation. The setting also drives the plot. Maddie is motivated to date Percy because she needs a car to drive uber so she can pay her property taxes and avoid losing her house. She is a Montauk native but is being driven out by the influx of wealthy families moving to the town. Overall the film's setting creates the atmosphere and is the main driving force behind the plot.

Weak

nesses

While the story was interesting and engaging there was not very much creativity when it came to the technical aspects such as lighting and camera shots and even sound. Being that it is a summer romance I feel like sunsets and ambient lighting could have been used strategically to enhance the overall mood of the film. Though a variety of shots were used it was relatively simple. This could be seen as a weakness, but it is not unusual for these types of movies to stay simple with the technical aspects. With sound they did not have many iconic or distinct songs which is often a characteristic of these heartwarming blockbuster films. I feel like they played it safe by not experimenting more with these aspects of the film and by taking more creative liberties could enhance the movie.

A Family Haunting

Goal

I believe the goal of this film is to be a nostalgic ode to the classic summer film. With the setting and the topic which is reminiscent of the brat pack movies of the 80s; the film seems like an homage to the golden age of cinema. Over the last decade we have seen streaming platforms taking over the movie industry and we have become so used to the convenience of watching films from home. This movie in combination with The Little Mermaid, The Barbie Movie, and Oppenheimer felt like a resurgence of the movie going experience and the summer blockbuster. The director achieved this from the storyline, to the setting, to Jennifer lawarence as the main character who has long established herself as a film star of this generation.

87%

Rating

This film did not disappoint. Personally I love movies that are a little off the wall and push the boundaries of everyday life. I enjoy how this film was a play on more traditional romcom and summer films with a modern twist. The acting was great and I like how it accurately portrays modern life without being a character of the gen z lifestyle with an abundance of acronyms and words like ‘lit’. The film is hilarious; multiple times when watching it I couldn’t contain my laughter. In my opinion the allusions to classic rom coms like Failure to Launch, The Proposal, and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days just strengthens the film. Within the last decade rom coms have become more cheesy and less of a staple in the film community. With No Hard Feelings we see a resurgence of the classic romcom