The makers of No Hard Feelings have defended the film’s storyline after the new comedy came under some serious fire.
Starring Jennifer Lawrence and Matthew Broderick, the film has been criticised as it shows the main character’s parents paying for an adult woman to 'date' their teenage son.
People online expressed their distaste towards the age gap, real and fictional, between the two characters, with one person saying: "First, I adore Jennifer Lawrence, so don’t start. But a thirty-two-year-old woman getting compensated to ‘date’ and ‘date hard’ an eighteen year old boy?
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"All with the okay of mom and dad. I wonder if it’d be just as 'funny' if it was a 32 year old man and an 18 year old girl.”
“Yeah if the roles were reversed and it was a 19 yr old daughter, it would be weird if her parents paid some 30 yr old man to ‘date’ her.” another said.
Despite this, the cast and crew have defended the upcoming film at its New York premiere.
According to those involved in the film, it is actually satirising helicopter parents.
Benanti said that what her on-screen alter ego asked for was ‘insane'.
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“It’s a cautionary tale,” she told the Hollywood Reporter: “If you are a helicopter parent who puts your child in such a bubble, they do not know how to exist outside of that bubble, you are going to make the exact opposite and insane choice, which is what they are doing here.
“I feel like it is a very satirical look at what can happen if you do not give your children a longer leash to figure things out for themselves. Otherwise, you’re going to end up curating their life forever.”
Broderick added that he guessed that what happens with these parents is 'when a kid goes off to school, it’s so frightening that they’ll be happy and they’ll make friends and they’ll take care of themselves that some parents go to any length to make that transition work'.
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"And it’s a hard time. I’ve been through it. But you really have to let them make it on their own. But these parents decide to mess with nature.” he continued.
And producer Marc Provissiero echoed a similar sentiment, revealing that he actually wanted Stupnitsky to direct a movie based on the book, How To Raise An Adult, which the director thought was a great idea but didn't know what story to could go with.
Provissiero was then informed by fellow producer, Naomi Odenkirk, about a Craiglist ad that ended up inspiring the plot of the film.
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At the time, Stupnitsky 'didn’t believe him' and even made him show the ad over dinner.
"And, he said, ‘I’ll write this for you on spec'.” Provissiero recalled.
"It’s parents overstepping their bounds, for sure,” Odenkirk said.
And Provissiero added: “It’s not that far removed from actual parenting choices. You want to do everything you can for your kid.
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"Where’s the line.”
Stupnitsky then assured the audience they'd walk away not thinking they'd seen something creepy.
Topics: Celebrity, Film and TV, Parenting, Jennifer Lawrence
Katherine Sidnell