No Hard Feelings

This is an Alexander Payne movie. It doesn’t matter if Alexander Payne wasn’t involved -- his essence is all over this. Ad campaigns are selling this as a hilarious Farrelly Brothers type of sex comedy. But there’s an indie-movie bittersweetness here, too. Desaturated colors, shaky hand-held camera, very close close-ups, crying. It attempts, with some success, to match the TONE of Sideways, Election, or About Schmidt. They even got Broderick! The not-so secret ingredient is, of course, Jennifer Lawrence, who goes full H.A.M. in a way that most movie stars would never try. It’s only “risky” if it doesn’t work, and she brute-forces it to land with her commitment to the bit. The lead nerd (Andrew Barth Feldman) is solid, also. It’s a cousin to the Farrellys’ There’s Something About Mary, but the brothers always lean heavily into the silliness. Here the comedy is more grounded farce, with misfortune lurking just around the corner. The Payne homage, comedy/dramedy hybrid is rough around the edges, but it gets an A for effort.