No Hard Feelings viewers criticize real-life age gap between Jennifer Lawrence and ‘unf**kable’ boy
People who watched the trailer for No Hard Feelings have some very hard feelings about the upcoming Jennifer Lawrence sex comedy.
The film stars Academy Award winner Lawrence, 32, as Maddie, a woman in desperate need of cash in order to save her house.
Maddie is an Uber driver without a car – meaning she’s effectively jobless – so, to secure some much-needed funds, she responds to an ad posted by two ‘helicopter parents’ looking for a woman to ‘date’ their son.
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Despite the cringey request, the prospect of a Buick Regal and no longer losing her childhood home is too tempting of an offer to refuse.
So, Maddie decides to ‘date’ Percy (played by Andrew Barth Feldman, 20), an introverted and awkward 19-year-old before he leaves for college because God forbid he moves out without losing his V-card.
The trailer has left lots of viewers feeling uncomfortable, mostly due to the age difference between the two leading characters although Maddie’s age has yet to be confirmed.
One viewer called out the different gender standards and questioned if the plot would still be considered ‘funny’ if it was an older man hired to ‘date’ a teenage ‘girl’.
They tweeted: “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.”
Lots of other Twitter users have issues with the plot for a similar reason. “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,” one user said.
While a third shared: “I was lowkey thinking bc honestly if the genders were swapped there would be a boycott lmaoo but it still looks cute.”
Another Twitter user agreed and called the movie’s plot ‘questionable’. They wrote: “Agreed, but how old is the character? It's not unusual for actors to play much younger characters. If she's 25 and he's 19 it's still questionable (the way the whole premise of the movie is questionable) but a lot less so.”
While another disappointed viewer took to Twitter and wrote: “That Jennifer Lawrence trailer. What the hell is that? A kids parents are ashamed that he’s an introvert so they hire JLaw—who is twice his age—to bone him. That’s the premise, right?
Some fans are also very excited to see Lawrence in a raunchy comedy role following a string of more serious dramas. One fan tweeted: “Jennifer Lawrence going from her acclaimed understated indie film (Causeway) to a raunchy R-rated comedy movie (No Hard Feelings) seems like such an inspired//fun career move… and producing both (!!)”
Another admirer shared a picture from No Hard Feelings and simply wrote: “Mother is back.”
While another nostalgic film fan tweeted: “I missed comedies like this.”
No Hard Feelings will be released 23 June.
Topics: Film and TV, Jennifer Lawrence, Celebrity
Gregory Robinson