‘No Hard Feelings’ Review: Jennifer Lawrence Lights Up This Witty and Genuine Rom-Com

thewrap.com:

Had Katniss Everdeen and the “X-Men” series never gotten in the way — or, had we still lived in an era when superheroes or fantasy franchises were not seen as status symbols on the resume of a young superstar — Jennifer Lawrence would have already starred in numerous rom-coms by now, à la the Julia Roberts of the 90s.

Especially after winning the Oscar for one a decade ago, with David O. Russell’s “Silver Linings Playbook.”But better late than never says Gene Stupnitsky’s “No Hard Feelings,” a genuinely witty and somewhat clumsy romantic comedy (well, sort of), that feels more like an honest-to-god movie than many of the rushed and straight-to-streaming examples of the genre we’ve seen in the recent years.

Written by Stupnitsky (of the heartily funny “Good Boys”) and John Phillips, this light pick-me-up of a flick is as eager to please as Lawrence is to show off her luminous physical comedy skills, elevated by the star’s fiery comic timing and effortless drollness.

What an unpredictably great next move for our big-screen sweetheart (also a producer here), to uplift the dying breed of the mid-budget, R-rated studio comedy, only a year after splendidly returning to her indie roots with the exquisite character study, “Causeway”?Lawrence plays Maddie Barker in her latest, a free-spirited Montauk local who feistily breaks male hearts and routinely ghosts romantic interests, “Runaway Bride”-style. (It feels like no accident that “No Hard Feelings” prominently features Hall & Oates’ “Maneater” in its soundtrack, like the aforesaid Richard Gere-Julia Roberts romance.) Though it’s anything but smooth-sailing for Maddie in her oceanside town.