YES, IT IS THE BEST!
Well, what can I say? This was a big surprise. I didn’t think I’d enjoy this movie as much as I did. There is a handful of Grade A movies that I have yet to write about, but this one tops them all. I realize some of my readers out there will disagree with me, screaming, “What about Sound of Freedom!” Well, that movie was not made for entertainment purposes. It was more of a docudrama, a shock-u-drama, that made my blood boil. I want to laugh at movies. I don’t want them to motivate me to travel to South America to kill pedophiles.
I’m not going to give out spoilers in this review, at all. There will be zero plot summaries. I even chose an interview video rather than the trailer because it gives away too much of the movie.
So, let’s get to the review.
DIRECTION AND WRITING WERE ON POINT
Gene Stupnitsky directed and co-wrote this comedy. He wrote Year One, Bad Teacher, and 15 episodes of The Office – in other words, he’s a dude who knows his comedy and has a knack for timing it right, while still creating honest characters. I’m pretty sure we can consider Stupnisky a comedy genius when it comes to writing and directing.
This movie falls into the category of American Pie, Super Bad, and 40-Year-Old Virgin, Brickleberry, and Paradise PD, Eurotrip – aka sex comedies. In other words, No Hard Feelings is not for children.
Directing these sex comedies is actually an art form only few can master, and that’s not a sarcastic remark. Just because it’s raunchy, doesn’t mean it’s funny. I just saw Joy Ride, which was an attempted sex comedy, and their jokes fell flat. So, what was left was a lame movie that was pretty boring.
Like any movie, it really comes down to the screenplay – the writing. And, the writing for No Hard Feelings is actually genius. The dialogue was witty, but any comedian can write witty dialogue. What made this script very special was that the script was littered with subtext. What’s subtext? Well, it’s what a character says, without saying it. It’s what AI’s cannot write.
For example, if you were to ask me, “How are you doing, Steve?”
And I was to answer back, “Man, life is just too generous sometimes.” But I actually meant, life is really sucking right now. What I didn’t say, that’s subtext. So, now as an actor, as a director, how do you inform the audience of that subtext? That’s where the skill comes into play.
You don’t get a lot of movies or TV shows with any subtext these days. Dialogue is on the nose. Characters say exactly what they mean. I’ve been watching Ahsoka, and every spoken sentence is EXACTLY what the character means. An AI can write dialogue like this. An AI cannot write subtext. It’s no wonder that these Hollywood writers are scared of being replaced by a computer – they suck!
THE CHARACTERS
THE UNHEALTHY TYPE EIGHT VS THE UNHEALTHY TYPE NINE PEACEMAKER
Jennifer Lawrence plays Maddie Barker, an Unhealthy Type 8. If you’re unsure of what a Type 8 is, think of Deadpool, or Wolverine. The type of personality type that bends the rules, with no apology. Andrew Feldman plays Percy Becker, an Unhealthy Type 9. That’s Spider-Man. The personality type that avoids conflict like the plague. Percy, the Type 9, is the protagonist in this movie, but not the main character. This movie is told through the antagonist’s point of view, which is always fun.
The characters in this movie are unbelievably honest, meaning they portray real human personality types, and real solutions to ludicrous conflicts. For any type of character/person to mature/grow they must slow their emotions, and embrace their contemplative mindset. In other words, the Type 8, who is used to reacting and breaking the law, must think before they act. And for the Type 9, who is the sum of all fears, and consequently paralyzed with cowardness, must learn to react, and have a spine when it comes to making the right choice for themselves. If a Type 8 matures, they end up being very generous with their time. And if a Type 9 succeeds in growing, they’ll start chasing goals. This is not a spoiler for the movie, but taken from the Enneagram. These two types of personalities, always follow this same arc, in script, and in real life.
By the way – If you don’t use the Enneagram to guide you through the screenwriting process, that’s fine. But all I’ll say is that if you master the Enneagram, it’ll will be an extremely useful tool that will allow you to create realistic characters, that your cast will love to play. Now, how these characters grow through conflict, well – that’s what usually makes the movie interesting, and that’s where the art of storytelling lies.
It seems as though the screenwriter, Gene Stupnitsky, pairs Type 8s and 9s together frequently, and favors telling the story from the antagonist’s point of view. No Hard Feelings follow the same character types, and storytelling formula, of Year One and Bad Teacher. Now, there are a handful of movies that are told from the perspective of the combatant of the storyline. Just off the top of my head, there’s What About Bob, As Good as It Gets. You could make an argument that Top Gun is told from the antagonist’s point of view, because for the entire 1st and 2nd Act, Maverick is a menace to the entire Top Gun program, more than the Russians. But in No Hard Feelings, Maddie Barker is the sole antagonist of the movie.
JENNIFER LAWRENCE PRODUCER/ACTOR
When I was trying to make it as a screenwriter back in the 90s, the entertainment industry was in the midst of transitioning. Actors were still receiving picture deals, but independent movies were everywhere. And that’s where I found the most of my employment.
It didn’t take me long to realize that waiting for my “big Hollywood break” would take forever. So, I flew back to Hawaii, my hometown, and started producing and writing my own projects. Within a short time, I produced and wrote commercials for large and small companies. I then produced 3 TV shows in Japan, wrote, and directed them, and got paid pretty well for them.
Now, that was back in the 90’s. Cut to the present, independent productions are the norm, and studios are just rentals. Youtubers who produce their own content, are actually producers, directors, and writers. They call themselves influencers or content creators, but those are just different titles – they pretty much do the same thing a traditional production team would do. I can tell you that they get paid residuals that would make any Hollywood screenwriter drool, or want to strike again. Tucker Carlson, Russel Brand, and Shanon Sharpe, are some of the independent voices, that are not controlled by the mainstream studios, that I follow. My good friend, Raina Huang, makes a great living producing YouTube content. My future BBQ company will produce its own content on YouTube.
Independent producing is here to stay, and it’s great. It allows storytellers, from all walks of life, a platform to distribute their viewpoint, and to turn a profit.
Jennifer Lawrence was the producer of No Hard Feelings. She read the script, and decided to produce it. She then started a bidding war between studios for her content. Bravo. This now – is the norm. Actors, writers, and directors, have to be producers. It doesn’t matter how famous you are. Everyone is making their own work and not waiting for Hollywood to come knocking, because they hardly knock. In fact, Hollywood would love to cancel you before they knock.
All I can say is that Jennifer Lawerence knows how to produce a good movie. Will it be as profitable as Top Gun, no. But, it’s a good movie.
GRADE: A+
Steve Young
