NO HARD FEELINGS: an amusement with Jennifer Lawrence

Photo caption: Jennifer Lawrence and Andrew Barth Feldman in NO HARD FEELINGS. Courtesy of Sony Pictures.

In the comedy No Hard Feelings, the summer season is beginning in Montauk, and the introverted rich kid Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman) is slated to enter Princeton in the fall. His over-protective and intrusive parents worry that his social immaturity will stunt his future, so they hire a financially strapped Uber driver/bartender (Jennifer Lawrence) to date him and get him out of his shell – essentially to take his virginity for a used Buick Regal.

Of course, it’s absurd that Jennifer Lawrence would have 103 minutes of difficulty in seducing a high school senior, and part of the fun is in suspending disbelief. It all makes for good, dirty fun, and No Hard Feelings is an amusing diversion because of Jennifer Lawrence.

After her stunning dramatic debut in Winter’s Bone, Lawrence has shown a gift for comedy in Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle and Don’t Look Up, establishing that she can soar in wise-cracky role. She cracks wise here, too, and also shows off a gift for broad physical comedy in bits like climbing concrete stairs on roller skates.

Lawrence has achieved fame and fortune from eight fantasy movies as Katniss and Raven, respectively, in the Hunger Games and X-Men franchises. She has recently voiced her desire to return to human-scale stories, and No Hard Feelings is one of these, along with the much better Don’t Look Up and Causeway. Good for her.

No Hard Feelings skewers helicopter parents and the invasion of rich outsiders pricing the locals out of their hometowns. Matthew Broderick and Laura Benanti are excellent as the parents, and Broderick’s rich guy haircut is priceless.

The Wife and I laughed together at some scenes; she laughed at some others and I laughed at some more. I liked the movie more than she did, but neither of us complained about wasting an hour-and-a-half of our lives. We talked about it on the way to dinner, and I haven’t thought about it since.

Co-writer and director Gene Stupitsky wrote for the American version of The Office, earning some Emmy nominations, so he is capable of better comedy than this, I’m not embedding the trailers because both the Sony red band trailers make No Hard Feelings look like a very stupid teen comedy and, although it has elements of that type, it’s much better that that overall.

Photo caption: Jennifer Lawrence in NO HARD FEELINGS. Courtesy of Sony Pictures.

CAUSEWAY: affecting and uplifting

Photo caption: Brian Tyree Henry and Jennifer Lawrence in CAUSEWAY. Courtesy of AppleTV.

The affecting and uplifting drama Causeway centers on two damaged people and the unlikely friendship that can help them both heal. Lynsey (Jennifer Lawrence) is a civilian engineer attached to a combat unit, who suffers traumatic brain injury from an IED explosion in Afghanistan. James (Brian Tyree Henry) is an auto mechanic who has suffered a family tragedy and is adrift in a morass of grief and guilt.

After regaining most of her motor skills in a challenging rehab, Lynsey returns to her hometown of New Orleans to complete her recovery. Once we learn that her broken family is an ever-partying mom and a junkie brother that she speaks of as dead, it becomes clear why Lynsey escaped by immersing herself in achievement and structure.

When Lynsey’s truck breaks down, she meets James, and an unlikely friendship blossoms. Although they are both working class New Orleans natives, they make an unusual pair of buddies, with different races and different levels of fitness, one approaching life with determined focus, the other aimless.

The relationship between Lynsey and James builds organically with complete authenticity, with just one exception that keeps Causeway off my best of the year list. Dramatically, there needed to be one event that threatened the friendship at the end of the second act; indeed, one character comforts the other one with exactly the wrong action – and it briefly took me and The Wife out of the film. But, it doesn’t ruin the the rest of the film, which is uncommonly genuine.

Jennifer Lawrence is excellent as a character who is dazed much of the time, before she gets to exude the Jennifer Lawrence brightness. After Lawrence has earned massive paychecks from four Hunger Games and four X-Men franchise blockbusters, Causeway represents her return to more adult, thoughtful films. [Amazing note: Jennifer Lawrence is the first person born in the 1990s to have won an acting Oscar.]

Brian Tyree Henry in CAUSEWAY. Courtesy of AppleTV.

The revelation for me was the even better performance by Brian Tyree Henry (Emmy-nominated for Atlanta and This Is Us). Wow – this guy can act. There isn’t a single false note as Henry portrays James’ despondence, self-loathing, compassion, gentleness, worldliness and disappointment.

The distinguished stage actor (three Tony nominations and an Obie) Linda Emond is perfect in the small role of Lynsey’s mom.

Causeway is the first feature for director Lila Neugebauer, and it’s impressive work. I love New Orleans, and I was impressed at how Neugebauer delivered the vibe of the city without any shots of the city’s many tourist-friendly, easily recognizable locations. (I did spot the Maple Leaf Bar and neighboring Jacque Imo’s in one background.)

Causeway is streaming on AppleTV.

JOY: disappointingly empty

Jenifer Lawrence in JOY
Jenifer Lawrence in JOY

The disappointingly empty dramedy Joy traces the story of housewife Joy Mangano (Jennifer Lawrence), who invented the Miracle Mop sold on QVC and became a business success despite the gravity pull of her dysfunctional family.

Why doesn’t this movie work?  One pivotal scene illustrates the problem. At this point, her business has imploded, she’s entangled in a hopeless legal morass, and everyone is urging her to file for bankruptcy.  She’s facing family disgrace, and she tells her daughter that she’s giving up.  But WE KNOW there’s no chance that Joy is really going to give up.  We know that Jennifer Lawrence is going to kick ass to a triumphant conclusion.  So there’s no tension, and therefore no drama.

Lawrence is very good, and I can generally watch her read a telephone book.  The rest of the cast, which includes Bradley Cooper in a brief role, is just fine.  But Joy’s slalom course through all her emotionally unhealthy relatives just isn’t very compelling.

Director David O. Russell has previously made two brilliantly entertaining movies with Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Robert DeNiro – Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle. This ain’t them.

DVD/Stream of the Week: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is another gripping episode from the popular and acclaimed young adult fiction trilogy by Suzanne Collins. Just like The Hunger Games, it’s a well-paced, well-acted and intelligent sci-fi adventure fable. And it’s yet another showcase role for Jennifer Lawrence.

To review, the story is set in the future, where several generations after a rebellion, an authoritarian government plucks teenagers from the formerly rebellious provinces to fight to the death in a forest. It’s all broadcast on reality TV for the entertainment of the masses. Children killing children – it doesn’t get much harsher than that.

This time, the malevolent tyrant picks his gladiators from the winners (i.e., survivors) of the past Games. Because they have survived by killing off the other children, they could constitute their own PTSD support group; they range from emotionally fragile to raging bonkers. This adds a particularly flavorful set of roles, acted especially deliciously by Jeffrey Wright, Amanda Plummer and Jena Malone.

The main purpose of a second act is to tee up the third, and Catching Fire is very successful, with the help of a new character played by Philip Seymour Hoffman (who, sadly, will not complete the sequels). Francis Lawrence (no relation to Jennifer) does a fine job directing his first Hunger Games movie – and he’s set to direct the final chapter in the trilogy (which will actually be two movies – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and – Part 2).

[Gary Ross, the director of the original The Hunger Games, is in pre-production on two new Jennifer Lawrence movies – Burial Rites from the Hannah Kent novel and Steinbeck’s East of Eden (where Lawrence’s role is the one played by Julie Harris in the 1955 Elia Kazan/James Dean version).]

But, at the end of the day, it’s all about Jennifer Lawrence, who must carry the movie as she plays the determined and resourceful Appalachian heroine. She’s an amazing screen presence, capable of believably portraying both panic attacks and action hero sequences. She’s worth the price of admission all by herself.

The source material may be aimed at tweens, but I haven’t met an adult yet who hasn’t enjoyed and been impressed with The Hunger Games or The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. HG: Catching Fire is available on DVD from Netflix and Redbox and streaming from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Xbox Video.

DVD/Stream of the Week: American Hustle

american hustleWhy is American Hustle so gloriously entertaining? It’s certainly successful as a con man movie, as a 70s period piece and as a fast-paced (sometimes almost screwball) comedy. But I think the key is that writer-director David O. Russell develops such compelling characters – lots of them – and they’re so endearingly wacky, we just need to see what happens next. That’s the recipe he used in last year’s triumph Silver Linings Playbook (and in his under-appreciated 1996 Flirting with Disaster).

American Hustle opens with the wonderfully sly disclaimer “Some of this actually happened”, and then we see Christian Bale assembling the worst comb-over in cinematic history – and we’re hooked. The story follows the arc of the real-life Abscam scandal with the FBI forcing con artists to sting elected officials in an outlandish bribery-by-phony-sheik scheme. Bale plays an unattractive yet magnetic con man. Amy Adams is his tough and sexy partner. Bradley Cooper is their hyper-ambitious FBI handler.

As we would expect, Bale, Adams and Cooper are all fun to watch with this material. But Russell ‘s cast is very deep – the secondary and tertiary characters are just as fun. Jennifer Lawrence is a force of nature as Bale’s estranged wife, who takes passive aggressiveness to an entirely unforeseen level. Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) almost steals the picture as an extremely sympathetic and good-hearted local pol who doesn’t see what’s coming. And Louis C.K. is hilarious as Cooper’s put-upon boss; as he did so successfully in Blue Jasmine, C.K. plays the character completely straight and lets the material generate the laughs; many comedians make the mistake of trying to act funny in movie comedies, but C.K. has a real gift for the lethal dead pan.

American Hustle plants us firmly in the late 1970s with an especially evocative score and very fun costumes and hair. Besides Bale’s comb-over, we enjoy the tightly permed curls of Adams and Cooper, along with Lawrence’s Jersey updo. And Adams and Lawrence sport an unceasing series of dresses with severely plunging necklines.

Funny and gripping at the same time, with scads of movie stars at their very best, American Hustle is a surefire good time at the movies.   American Hustle is now available on DVD frpm Netflix and streaming from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

American Hustle: gloriously entertaining

american hustleWhy is American Hustle so gloriously entertaining?  It’s certainly successful as a con man movie, as a 70s period piece and as a fast-paced (sometimes almost screwball) comedy.  But I think the key is that writer-director David O. Russell develops such compelling characters – lots of them – and they’re so endearingly wacky, we just need to see what happens next.  That’s the recipe he used in last year’s triumph Silver Linings Playbook (and in his under-appreciated 1996 Flirting with Disaster).

American Hustle opens with the wonderfully sly disclaimer “Some of this actually happened”, and then we see Christian Bale assembling the worst comb-over in cinematic history – and we’re hooked.  The story follows the arc of the real-life Abscam scandal with the FBI forcing con artists to sting elected officials in an outlandish bribery-by-phony-sheik scheme.  Bale plays an unattractive yet magnetic con man.  Amy Adams is his tough and sexy partner.  Bradley Cooper is their hyper-ambitious FBI handler.

As we would expect, Bale, Adams and Cooper are all fun to watch with this material.  But Russell ‘s cast is very deep – the secondary and tertiary characters are just as fun.  Jennifer Lawrence is a force of nature as Bale’s estranged wife, who takes passive aggressiveness to an entirely unforeseen level.  Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) almost steals the picture as an extremely sympathetic and good-hearted local pol who doesn’t see what’s coming.  And Louis C.K. is hilarious as Cooper’s put-upon boss;  as he did so successfully in Blue Jasmine, C.K. plays the character completely straight and lets the material generate the laughs; many comedians make the mistake of trying to act funny in movie comedies, but C.K. has a real gift for the lethal dead pan.

American Hustle plants us firmly in the late 1970s with an especially evocative score and very fun costumes and hair.   Besides Bale’s comb-over, we enjoy the tightly permed curls of Adams and Cooper, along with Lawrence’s Jersey updo.  And Adams and Lawrence sport an unceasing series of dresses with severely plunging necklines.

Funny and gripping at the same time, with scads of movie stars at their very best, American Hustle is a surefire good time at the movies.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – smart, fast-paced and Jennifer Lawrence

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is another gripping episode from the popular and acclaimed young adult fiction trilogy by Suzanne Collins. Just like The Hunger Games, it’s a well-paced, well-acted and intelligent sci-fi adventure fable.  And it’s yet another showcase role for Jennifer Lawrence.

To review, the story is set in the future, where several generations after a rebellion, an authoritarian government plucks teenagers from the formerly rebellious provinces to fight to the death in a forest. It’s all broadcast on reality TV for the entertainment of the masses. Children killing children – it doesn’t get much harsher than that.

This time, the malevolent tyrant picks his gladiators from the winners (i.e., survivors) of the past Games.  Because they have survived by killing off the other children, they could constitute their own PTSD support group; they range from emotionally fragile to raging bonkers.  This adds a particularly flavorful set of roles, acted especially deliciously by Jeffrey Wright, Amanda Plummer and Jena Malone.

The main purpose of a second act is to tee up the third, and Catching Fire is very successful, with the help of a new character played by Philip Seymour Hoffman.  Francis Lawrence (no relation to Jennifer) does a fine job directing his first Hunger Games movie – and he’s set to direct the final chapter in the trilogy (which will actually be two movies –  The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and – Part 2).

[Gary Ross, the director of the original The Hunger Games, is in pre-production on two new Jennifer Lawrence movies – Burial Rites from the Hannah Kent novel and Steinbeck’s East of Eden (where Lawrence’s role is the one played by Julie Harris in the 1955 Elia Kazan/James Dean version).]

But, at the end of the day, it’s all about Jennifer Lawrence, who must carry the movie as the plays the determined and resourceful Appalachian heroine.  She’s an amazing screen presence, capable of believably portraying both panic attacks and action hero sequences.  She’s worth the price of admission all by herself.

The source material may be aimed at tweens, but I haven’t met an adult yet who hasn’t enjoyed and been impressed with The Hunger Games or The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.  I’ll probably go see Catching Fire again (this time with The Wife), and I’m looking forward to Mockingjay.

Silver Linings Playbook: strong story, humor and Jennifer Lawrence

In the rewarding family dramedy Silver Linings Playbook, Bradley Cooper plays Pat, a guy who is trying to conquer his mental illness without medication, and it’s not working out well for him.  Although his mom springs him from a locked psychiatric facility, he is prone to violent meltdowns.  Worse, he still has the delusion that he can get back with his estranged wife; but it’s clear that his marriage and his teaching career have been irretrievably wrecked by his past behaviors (and there is the matter of restraining orders).  He meets a young widow (Jennifer Lawrence) who also has enough issues to know her way around the menu of psych meds, and his life changes in ways that he can’t anticipate.

The fine filmmaker David O. Russell (The Fighter, Three Kings, Flirting with Disaster, I Heart Huckabees) invests the first half of the film is establishing the seriousness of Pat’s disorder and the impact on his family.   Russell applies enough humor to keep this part bearable, but it can discomfort folks expecting a regular rom com.  But this is the key to the film’s success, because he makes the illness realistic and the opposite of cute.  If the plot followed the usual rom com arc and pacing, the film would be phony and insulting.

It’s difficult to describe the brilliance of Jennifer Lawrence’s performance.  Her Tiffany is at once volatile, damaged and enticing.  Lawrence demands the focus of the audience in every scene.  She was justifiably nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for Winter’s Bone, my pick for 2010’s top movie.  This performance is as least as good.

We also see Robert DeNiro playing Cooper’s father as a guy who is just as crazy as his son, but neither diagnosed or medicated.  In another outstanding performance, Jacki Weaver (Oscar nod for Animal Kingdom), plays the strong and long-suffering mom who must steer her hair-trigger son and tinderbox husband away from self-inflicted disasters.  John Ortiz is wonderfully appealing as Pat’s henpecked buddy.

It’s worth seeing Silver Linings Playbook for Jennifer Lawrence’s performance alone, but I recommend the film overall for its strong story, topicality and humor.

DVD of the Week: The Hunger Games

Jennifer Lawrence in THE HUNGER GAMES

I was impressed by The Hunger Games, a well-paced, well-acted and intelligent sci-fi adventure fable for tweens – and for the rest of us, too.

Since I apparently live under a rock, I was unaware of the source material, the popular and acclaimed young adult fiction trilogy by Suzanne Collins. The only reason I saw The Hunger Games was to accompany The Wife, who had read the first Hunger Games book. I hadn’t even seen the trailer, so I went in totally blind.

The story is set in the future, where several generations after a rebellion, an authoritarian government plucks teenagers from the formerly rebellious provinces to fight to the death in a forest. It’s all broadcast on reality TV for the entertainment of the masses. Children killing children – it doesn’t get much harsher than that.

Jennifer Lawrence plays the heroine, a poor Appalachian girl who volunteers to compete in place of her little sister. Lawrence starred in Winter’s Bone, my pick for the best movie of 2010. Here she carries the movie with her performance as an incredibly determined and resourceful girl. Her character is completely candid and unfiltered. This creates a moment that is all the more powerful when she has to pull off smarmy inauthenticity for an insipid TV interview.

Stanley Tucci is brilliant as the oleaginous reality TV host – it’s an Oscar-worthy performance.

The Hunger Games: the harshest reality tv ever

Jennifer Lawrence in THE HUNGER GAMES

I was impressed by The Hunger Games, a well-paced, well-acted and intelligent sci-fi adventure fable for tweens – and for the rest of us, too.

Since I apparently live under a rock, I was unaware of the source material, the popular and acclaimed young adult fiction trilogy by Suzanne Collins. The only reason I saw The Hunger Games was to accompany The Wife, who had read the first Hunger Games book. I hadn’t even seen the trailer, so I went in totally blind.

The story is set in the future, where several generations after a rebellion, an authoritarian government plucks teenagers from the formerly rebellious provinces to fight to the death in a forest.  It’s all broadcast on reality TV for the entertainment of the masses.  Children killing children – it doesn’t get much harsher than that.

Jennifer Lawrence plays the heroine, a poor Appalachian girl who volunteers to compete in place of her little sister.  Lawrence starred in Winter’s Bone, my pick for the best movie of 2010.  Here she carries the movie with her performance as an incredibly determined and resourceful girl. Her character is completely candid and unfiltered.  This creates a moment that is all the more powerful when she has to pull off smarmy inauthenticity for an insipid TV interview.

Stanley Tucci is brilliant as the oleaginous reality TV host – it’s an Oscar-worthy performance.