About No Hard Feelings
Directed by Gene Stupnitsky, No Hard Feelings is a comedy starring Jennifer Lawrence, Andrew Barth Feldman, Laura Benanti, Natalie Morales and Matthew Broderick. It was released in the year 2023.
No Hard Feelings focuses on J-Law’s character, Maddie, who is behind on all her property taxes and is at risk of having her home possessed. To make matters worse? She’s an uber driver who’s just had her car re-possessed. Unclear of a way out of financial ruin, Maddie sees a craigslist posting where two helicopter parents want an older woman to date their son and help bring him out of his shell. In exchange, they’ll give a Buick Regal for her time.
Unfortunately, Maddie eventually starts to become friends with the son, Percy (played by Andrew Barth Feldman), and this throws an uncomfortable dynamic into the mix.
After a recent watch, I started to think about some other movies like No Hard Feelings – that mix situational comedy, drama and an unusual pairing. How many of these have you seen?
1. Booksmart (2019)
Booksmart is a sweet coming of age film about two best friends in their last few days of high school. Amy and Molly rule the school inside their heads. They get excellent grades and Molly is convinced they are the only ones who got into really good universities because they spent their time studying and not doing frivolous things like going to parties.
However, on the eve of their high school graduation they realize they should have worked less and played more. Determined to never fall short of their peers, the girls set out on a mission to cram four years of fun into one night.
2. Easy A (2010)
Easy A is a comedy in which a high-school student finds herself labelled as promiscuous after some gossip is overheard, a clean cut high school girl sees her life paralleling Hester Prynne’s in “The Scarlet Letter,” which she is currently studying in school until she decides to use the rumor mill to advance her social and financial standing.
Now her classmates are turning against her and the school board is becoming concerned, including her favorite teacher and the distracted guidance counselor. With the support of her hilariously idiosyncratic parents and a little help from a long-time crush, Olive attempts to take on her notorious new identity and crush the rumor mill once and for all.
3. Lady Bird (2017)
Lady Bird is an American drama and comedy film directed by Greta Gerwig. The main character Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson fights against but is exactly like her wildly loving, deeply opinionated and strong-willed mom, a nurse working tirelessly to keep her family afloat after Lady Bird’s father loses his job.
Set in Sacramento, California in 2002, amidst a rapidly shifting American economic landscape, Lady Bird is an affecting look at the relationships that shape us, the beliefs that define us, and the unmatched beauty of a place called home.
4. Mean Girls (2004)
Mean Girls is another teen comedy movie you would love to watch. Teenage Cady Heron moves to the suburbs of Illinois and joins public school, She gets a quick primer on the cruel, tacit laws of popularity that divide her fellow students into tightly knit cliques.
She unwittingly finds herself in the good graces of an elite group of cool students dubbed “the Plastics,” but Cady soon realizes how her shallow group of new friends earned this nickname.
RELATED: The 30 Funniest Mean Girls Quotes
5. The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015)
The Diary of a Teenage Girl portrays the life of Minnie, a young teen artist living in 1970s San Francisco who enters into an affair with her mother’s boyfriend. Minnie had a poor self-image, when discovers she is attractive and that she loves sex. Her at times drug induced, artistic-imagination often intercedes in her reality. In this story about sexual betrayal and a coming-of-age young girl, discovering herself as a woman.
6. She’s All That (1999)
Directed by Robert Iscove, She’s All That is a teen romantic comedy film starring Freddie Prinze Jr and Rachael Leigh Cook. The movie follows Zack Siler, a high school student who is popular and confident who is suddenly dumped by his girlfriend. As a result, he makes a bet with his friends that he can transform any girl into the school’s next prom queen.
Zack sets his sights on Laney Boggs, a socially awkward and introverted artist who has just been ostracized by her friends. As Zack sets out to transform Laney into the school’s prom queen, he discovers that she is not the person he thought she was, and he starts to fall in love with her. As a light hearted feel good 90s film, it’s now considered a rom-com classic.
Ugh. Now I feel old.
7. She’s Out of My League (2010)
Directed by Jim Field Smith, She’s Out of My League is a romantic comedy starring Jay Baruchel, Alice Eve, T.J. Miller, Mike Vogel, Nate Torrence, Krysten Ritter, Geoff Stults and Lindsay Sloane. It was released in the year 2010.
She’s Out of My League is a classic rom-com where two strangers (Kirk and Molly) meet during a random set of circumstances. As a result they end up dating but because one of them is a 10 and the other is a 5 their relationship faces a whole bunch of hurdles. One of them being Kirk’s insecurities. Thankfully, he overcomes them and the two live happily ever after.
Typical Hollywood.
8. American Pie (1999)
Directed by Paul Weitz, American Pie is a teen sex comedy starring Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Eugene Levy, Natasha Lyonne, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Seann William Scott, Tara Reid, Mena Suvari and Eddie Kaye Thomas. It was released in the year 1999.
American Pie follows a group of high school friends as they navigate their way through the ups and downs of teenage life, including first loves, heartbreak, and the quest to lose their virginity before graduation.
With its relatable characters, raunchy humor, and timeless themes, American Pie has become a beloved staple of pop culture and has spawned numerous sequels and spin-offs. Whether you’re a fan of the original or new to the franchise, American Pie is sure to leave you laughing, cringing, and feeling nostalgic for your own high school days.
RELATED: Dirty Pie – 15 Movies like American Pie for Epic Nostalgia
9. Old School (2003)
Directed and co-written by Todd Phillips, Old School is a black comedy starring Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn and Will Ferrell. It was released in the year 2003.
Old School is about a trio of depressed men who are having a mid life crisis in their thirties. Figuring out the only answer is by re-starting their old college fraternity they get into all sorts of mishaps before finally facing up to the changes in life.
10. Superbad (2007)
Directed by Greg Mottola, Superbad is a comedy film about two best friends, Seth and Evan (two absolute losers), who are about to graduate high school and desperately want to lose their virginity before heading off to college.
What follows is a hilarious ensemble of bizarre adventures as they try to secure alcohol for a party in an effort to impress a pair of girls and make the most of their final days of adolescence. There isn’t a movie on this list which captures the awkwardness of adolescence and just how hilarious it can be more than Superbad!
RELATED: 15 Hilarious McLoving quotes from Superbad
11. Can’t Buy Me Love (1987)
Directed by Steve Rash, Can’t Buy Me Love is a romantic comedy starring Patrick Dempsey, Amanda Peterson, Courtney Gains, Tina Caspary, Darcy DeMoss, Seth Green, Sharon Farrell and Dennis Dugan. It was released in the year 1987.
Can’t Buy Me Love is about Ronald, a nerd who convinces his next-door neighbour and popular cheerleader, Cindy, to pose as his girlfriend in an effort to try and look cool. Eventually, the pair fall for each other after a series of mishaps and uncomfortable scenarios, which is exactly how these high school teen comedies tend to go!
12. Bad Teacher (2011)
Directed by Jake Kasdan, Bad Teacher is a comedy starring Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Lucy Punch, John Michael Higgins and Jason Segel. It was released in the year 2011.
Bad Teacher is about a lazy middle school teacher who hates on everything in her life: her job, her students, her co-workers, etc but then decides to return to teaching when her rich ex-fiance dumps her privileged ass. Despite being a success at the box office, this flick is often overlooked for the hilarity it causes.
13. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
Directed by Amy Heckerling, Fast Times at Ridgemont High is a comedy starring Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Phoebe Cates, Brian Backer, Robert Romanus, and Ray Walston. It was released in the year 1982.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High is about two sophomore students, Stacy Hamilton and Mark Ratner, and their older friends Linda Barrett and Mike Damone. The later of which believe themselves to be eons wiser in the ways of romance. Definitely a must watch for those of you interested in coming-of-age high school movies.
14. Road Trip (2000)
Directed by Todd Phillips, Road Trip is a comedy about a college student named Josh who embarks on a road trip across the country with his friends to retrieve an embarrassing videotape he sent to his girlfriend. A videotape which may or may not show him cheating on her.
Along the way, they encounter a series of hilarious and unexpected challenges and adventures, as they race against time to reach their destination. The film is a coming-of-age comedy that explores themes of friendship, love, and growing up.
15. Loser (2000)
Directed by Amy Heckerling, Loser is an American romantic comedy about Paul Tannek, a small-town student who moves to New York City to attend Columbia University. Once in New York, Paul finds himself struggling to adjust to the big city and fit in with his more sophisticated classmates.
However, things start to change for Paul when he meets Dora, a free-spirited fellow student who helps him see the world in a different way. As Paul starts to come out of his shell and embrace life in the city, he also finds himself falling in love with Dora. But just as things seem to be going well, Paul’s past comes back to haunt him, and he must choose between his old life and his new one.
Loser was also the film in which the song “Teenage Dirtbag” by Wheatus featured on its soundtrack. Although interestingly, the song Teenage Dirtbag is more about high school aged teenagers (which Paul and Dora aren’t) and includes a lyric “listen to Iron Maiden, baby” (which they don’t, they see Everclear at a concert instead). Otherwise, it’s an alright movie. It does its thing.
16. The Girl Next Door (2004)
Directed by Luke Greenfield, The Girl Next Door is a romantic comedy starring Emile Hirsch as Matthew Kidman, a high school student who has lived a sheltered life and is on track to become valedictorian. But his life gets turned upside down when a former porn star named Danielle (played by Elisha Cuthbert) moves in next door.
As Matthew gets to know Danielle, he discovers that she is much more than the pornstar stereotype. The Girl Next Door mixes coming-of-age, teen and even p*rnstar stereotypes to deliver a unique (at least for the time) story that is as entertaining as it is tongue in cheek. Sorry, bad pun.
17. There’s Something About Mary (1998)
Directed by the Farrelly Brothers, There’s Something About Mary is a romantic comedy, starring Cameron Diaz as “Mary,” a woman who is the object of the desires of many men. Even that of Ben Stiller’s character Ted.
There’s no shortage of random, off-beat, larrikin scenes that involve Ted’s character and the other men in Mary’s life who are competing with him at every twist and turn. If there was ever a 90s rom com that was bigger than American Pie then this movie would definitely take out that prize.
18. 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Directed by Gil Junger, 10 Things I Hate About You is a modern day reinterpretation of William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. Focusing on a high-school kid named Cameron, who wants to date Bianca, who is then told by Bianca that her dad won’t let her date anyone until her older sister has a boyfriend.
This leads Cameron to pay school yard bad boy, Patrick, to date Bianca’s sister, Kat. Which results in Kat falling for him. In which the typical teenager drama ensues, resulting in Kat getting really upset when she learns the truth of Cameron and Patrick’s agreement.
10 Things I Hate About You also has one of the best soundtracks of any of the films on this list. So it’s certainly worth diving back in to this classic!
19. Cruel Intentions
Directed by Roger Kumble, Cruel Intentions is a dark teen drama loosely based on the 18th-century French novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses and is set in modern-day New York City.
The premise of the movie revolves around two wealthy and decadent step-siblings, Kathryn and Sebastian, who make a wager to see if Sebastian can bed the headmaster’s daughter, Annette, before the start of the school year. Themes like love, power, sex, manipulation and white privilege are explored throughout the movie.
The bizarre thing is half the time you’re cheering Sebastian on so that he wins the wager and gets to have sex with his step-sister which is a weird flex.
The 90s was a wild time!
What did you think of these movies like No Hard Feelings?
Have you seen of any these movies like No Hard Feelings? Did any give you that nostalgia hit and make you feel old?
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