It’s not the the funniest movie of 2023, but No Hard Feelings is a enjoyably raunchy R-rated comedy with heart, and it’s good to see star Jennifer Lawrence not in blue paint again. In fact, in the most discussed scene in the movie (which is currently #1 on Netflix), she’s not wearing anything at all.
Based on a real Craigslist ad, No Hard Feelings follows Maddie (played by Lawrence), who is hired by wealthy parents (Laura Benanti and Matthew Broderick) to “date” their awkward college-bound son, Percy (a very good Andrew Barth Feldman). Maddie suggests going skinny dipping during their first night out together, and while they’re in the water, a group of drunken teens steal their clothes. A fight ensues when a completely nude Maddie storms out of the ocean and approaches the teens; she gets their clothes back but not before getting punched… down there.
Lawrence declined to use a body double for the sequence. “Everyone in my life and my team is doing the right thing and going, ‘Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure?’ I didn’t even have a second thought. It was hilarious to me,” the Oscar winner told Variety. Barth Feldman added, “Every situation that these characters end up in, you’re laughing your butt off. We became so close instantly that nothing ever felt weird or unsafe. It was entirely professional.”
The scene took a day to shoot following “a lot of rehearsal,” Lawrence said. The wrestling move alone must have taken weeks of training. The actress is being called “completely fearless” for the Eastern Promises-esque fight, but let’s also give it up for Barth Feldman. He killed it here.
The absolutely delightful NO HARD FEELINGS just dropped on Netflix and you’ll probably hear a lot of chatter about THAT scene of Jennifer Lawrence on the beach, but THIS scene stole the movie for me. It’s pure cinema. pic.twitter.com/kKPPmaaeiR
— Joe Russo (@joerussotweets) October 21, 2023
No Hard Feelings is streaming on Netflix.