Topics: Jennifer Lawrence, Celebrity, Film and TV, Social Media, Netflix, Mental Health
No Hard Feelings' director has spoken out following criticism of the age gap between Jennifer Lawrence and Andrew Barth Feldman's characters.
In the movie, Lawrence plays the role of 32-year-old bartender Maddie while Feldman plays 19-year-old soon-to-be college student Percy. FYI, in real life, Lawrence is 33 years old and Feldman, 21.
Maddie is employed by Percy's parents to date him, bring him out of his shell and ultimately seduce him before the introverted youngster goes off to college.
Despite No Hard Feelings only being released on Sunday (22 October), people already have a lot to say about it - in particular, about the characters' age gap. Prepare yourself for some raunchy scenes:
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People have flooded to social media to give their review of the movie and for some, the age gap between the characters doesn't sit right.
One X - formerly known as Twitter - user said: "The age gap in #NoHardFeelings is so weird to me… I can’t even enjoy the movie."
"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? 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," another wrote.
A third commented: "Just watched no hard feelings and i thought the age gap was going to be like 5 years or something but wdym 19 and 32?"
Gene Stupnitsky - director and co-writer of the movie - has since addressed the backlash, reflecting on another of Lawrence's movies Silver Linings Playbook, where Bradley Cooper's character is 15 years older than Lawrence's.
"It goes the other way too," he said to Looper at the film's premiere in New York, before adding: "We took great pains to be careful about the ick factor because it could go that way... We took a humanist approach and I think that's all you can ask for."
Feldman echoed the sentiment in an interview with Vanity Fair, noting those involved in the film 'always knew that' there would be backlash, arguing: "Because what is a comedy if it’s not at least a little controversial?"
The actor continues: "But Percy is an adult. I am an adult, and this is a cringe comedy. It should make you uncomfortable. I’m disinterested in a movie, and specifically a comedy, about people who are perfect and make the right decisions all the time.
"[...] We were so thoughtful about it throughout. Constantly, every day talking about what it meant and how it would manifest in a truthful way.
"And I think people are going to be surprised with not just how funny it turns out to be, and how uncomfortable it maybe makes them, but also how beautiful this relationship is and how heartfelt it is."
No Hard Feelings is available to watch on Netflix US now.
