‘No Hard Feelings’: Not so sure about that

Raunchy comedy misses as often as it hits

By Derrick Bang Enterprise film critic Director Gene Stupnitsky’s bawdy entry can’t decide what it wants to be.

At times, it displays the energetic, no-holds-barred raunch typical of classics such as “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Bridesmaids” and “There’s Something About Mary.” A scrappy beach fight scene here is the stuff of cinema legend.

But at other times we’re expected to empathize with the two primary characters as authentic people, with credible feelings and angst.

It’s almost impossible to achieve both goals; the former too frequently undercuts the latter … particularly given the mean-spiritedness of Stupnitsky and John Phillips’ script. The line between funny and cruel is very thin, and this film too frequently slides onto the wrong side.

Maddie Barker (Jennifer Lawrence), a longtime resident of the Long Island village of Montauk, is appalled by how incoming rich jerks have transformed her community. Rising property taxes are threatening the house in which she grew up, and which holds the memory of her late mother. Maddie’s jobs as barmaid and Uber driver no longer keep up with the bills, and — as this story begins — her car is repossessed by former short-term lover Gary (Ebon Moss-Bachrach).

Now reduced to getting around on roller skates, and lacking the additional Uber income, the situation rapidly becomes even more dire. Then Maddie is alerted to an unusual Craigslist job listing from wealthy helicopter parents seeking somebody to “date” their introverted 19-year-old son, and bring him out of his shell before he leaves for Princeton in the fall. The payment: a free Buick Regal.

The quotation marks around the word “date” are telling.

Although the set-up smells uncomfortably like pimping, Maddie is desperate … and pragmatic; her love life has been limited to a long string a short-timers

‘No Hard Feelings’

R, for sexual content, graphic nudity, brief drug use

Jennifer Lawrence, Andrew Barth Feldman, Natalie Morales, Matthew Broderick,thur, Ebon Moss-Bachrach

Available via: Movie theaters and one-night stands. How different could this be?

She therefore arranges to meet Laird and Allison Becker (Matthew Broderick and Laura Benanti, both deadpan hilarious), who live in a cluelessly privileged world. Their son, Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman), has no friends, rarely leaves his room, and hasn’t learned to drive; his parents worry that Princeton will eat him alive.

Although their ad specified a woman in her “young 20s,” Maddie argues that her 32-year-old self is guaranteed to be “more sensitive” to the situation. (Lawrence is indeed 32.) Laird and Allison accept this rationale, and caution that Percy must never know about the arrangement. (Well, no kidding.) They explain that he volunteers at a local animal shelter, and suggest that Maddie visit as a potential dog adopter.

At which point, this film goes off the rails for the first time (and certainly not the last).

Maddie charges into the shelter like a sexually ravenous stripper, aggressively baiting the overwhelmed Percy with doubleentendres and seductive body language; it feels as if she intends to get to business right there, on the floor. (So much for sensitivity.) No surprise: the deer-in-theheadlights Percy is practically speechless, and clearly astonished that such a woman would give him even a second glance.

This outrageous first encounter then slides into funnier slapstick territory, concluding when the shy Percy agrees to a more “conventional” date the following day.

Although still pursuing her primary goal, Maddie subsequently dials it back a bit; a charming montage finds them having fun at an amusement park, walking one of the shelter dogs along the beach, and so forth. The aforementioned beach skirmish climaxes with a neardeath experience — seriously! — that segues to a quieter end of the day.

Percy has relaxed enough to accept the situation, and Maddie recognizes — uncomfortably — that he’s falling in love with her, which wasn’t in the cards. On top of which, she becomes aware of the power she wields, and the potential damage she could inflict.

This leads to the film’s most endearing sequence, during an actual “real date” at a fancy restaurant; on a dare, Percy bravely plays and sings Hall & Oates’ classic “Maneater” to her, on the dining room’s grand piano. Feldman’s performance here is sublime, with Percy nervously looking up every few seconds, making sure Maddie is paying attention, worried about what all the other diners must be thinking.

(Feldman has solid musical chops, having performed the lead of “Dear Evan Hansen” on Broadway.)

Alas, the magic of this interlude — truly, it’ll bring tears to

‘Choices’ exhibit opens in Fairfield

Enterprise staff

The Fairfield-Suisun City Visual Arts Association would like to invite the public to visit the Solano Town Center Gallery’s new show, “Choices.” FSVAA members will create art depicting the choices they have made and choices to be made. This show will beat the Gallery from June 28 to Aug. 5.

On Saturday, July 3 the Solano Town Center Gallery will hold a reception from 4 to 6pm. Fairfield Poet Laureate Suzanne Bruce, and a group of poets will visit the Gallery and create poems about their favorite pieces of art from this show. During the

Reception, the poets will perform their poems in front of the artwork. Everyone is invited to this event. At the Reception, we will be serving appetizers, beverages, and BackRoad Vines Winery will be supplying the wine.

The Spotlight Artist, wildlife and landscape photographer Dennis Ariza will have a collection of his award-winning images on display.

Ariza grew up in Vacaville, where he attended Will C. Wood High School the first year it opened. He learned the basics of blackand-white photography while taking a biology class at Wood. He later attended the New York Institute of

Photography and Solano Community College.

He is a member of the Vacaville Art League, Yolo Arts, and joined FairfieldSuisun City Visual Arts Association in 2013 and has shown his artwork in several different shows over the years and participated in many of the FSVAA events such as Art on the Vine, The Crush, and other FSVAA Fine Art and Wine Festivals.

The Solano Town Center Gallery is at 1508-B Travis Blvd, Fairfield in the Solano Town Center, on the second floor next to the AT&T Store. For information, call Dennis Ariza, FSVAA President, at (707) 688-8889.

DMTC opens auditions for ‘Something Rotten’

Enterprise staff

Davis Musical Theatre Company will hold auditions for “Something Rotten!” on Sunday June 25, and Monday, June 26, at 7:30 p.m. at the Jean Henderson Performing Arts Center, 607 Pena Drive, No. 10, in Davis.

Callbacks will be on Tuesday, June 27, at 7:30 p.m. at the same location. Directed by Steve Isaacson, choreographed by Kat Fio and Kyle Jackson and musical direction by Boris Karpuk. Please bring a prepared song (not from “Something Rotten!”), sheet music with piano accompaniment (piano accompanist is provided), and there will be cold readings. The show opens Friday, Sept. 8.

Welcome back to the ’90s — the 1590s to be exact! “Something Rotten!” takes place in 1595 London, England. It is the Renaissance, where the Black Plague placed power in the Puritans, farthingales and codpieces are the latest fashion trend, and the biggest celebrity in England is a playwright named William Shakespeare. In the midst of all this excitement, brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom are trying to keep their acting company afloat. In a desperate attempt to out-Bard the Bard, Nick consults with a soothsayer, who informs him that the future of theatre involves acting, singing and dancing, sometimes all at once! As the Bottom brothers strive to write the world’s very first “musical,” they find themselves caught in a bitter battle with the Bard and the play's the thing. your eyes — is destroyed by the absurdity of what happens next.

Lawrence can’t be faulted; she goes (often fearlessly) wherever the uneven script sends her. But the result is wildly uneven; as carefully as she develops Maddie’s awakening compassion and selfawareness, such nuanced work too often is undercut by contrived set-ups that remove this woman from reality.

Feldman’s Percy is far more credible, the young man’s initial owl-eyed shock and disbelief gradually shading into hope (is this woman really into me?) and then happy acceptance (she is into me!). But the shyness remains; Feldman gets considerable mileage out of Percy’s eye contact, or lack thereof. The young actor’s performance is so strong, and believable, that we begin to grieve … because this scenario can’t possibly end well.

The always enjoyable Natalie Morales is terrific as Maddie’s sardonic best friend, Sara: shrewdly perceptive, and quick with a cautionary one-liner. Scott MacArthur is a hoot as Sara’s macho husband, Jim.

Zahn McClarnon, a truly gifted actor, is shamefully under-used in just two fleeting scenes, as Maddie’s friend and lawyer.

Some of the script’s one-liners

Songwriter Jim Fowler featured at Performers’ Circle

Special to The Enterprise are amusing, particularly the barbed age-difference comments that come later in the game. But other little bits are stupid or clumsily unresolved. When Maddie first meets the Beckers, they greet her at the top of the steep concrete steps leading up to their home; Maddie, still on roller skates, awkwardly hauls herself up. That’s just silly; why wouldn’t she remove them?

Jim Fowler will play guitar and sing selections from his album “People and Places” at the Village Homes Performers’ Circle, Tuesday, June 27, in Davis.

The featured performer is a singer, songwriter and teacher living in Davis. He has received awards for performance and composition. His songs have been aired on National Public Radio as well as regional stations in California. He earned a B.A. in music from Sonoma State College and is a member of the West Coast Songwriters Association. Jim Fowler has a talent for capturing the essence of a person’s life in a song. In his featured performance he will celebrate significant people and events in his life.

Much later, the story’s most explosively embarrassing setpiece is filmed by scores of snickering witnesses — Maddie’s behavior here is patently ludicrous — and yet this doesn’t subsequently explode via social media, as if it never happened. Seriously? That’s just sloppy.

Whether this film ultimately earns its conclusion — and, more crucially, whether the premise’s inherent ick factor can be overlooked — will depend of each viewer’s open-mindedness. Much as I enjoyed isolated moments, the whole is far less than the sum of those individually successful parts.

— Read more of Derrick Bang’s film criticism at http://derrickbang.blogspot.com. Comment on this review at www.davisenterprise.com.

His music can be characterized as folk/rock with a twist of classical and a slice of country. Sample it at https://www.jimfowlersongs.com/

The Village Homes Performers’ Circle is a free event that welcomes performers of all levels as well as audience members who simply come to enjoy the performances. No tickets or reservations are required. It is held the fourth Tuesday of each month, except December.

The event begins with an open mike from 7:15 to

8:15 pm and concludes with the featured performance from 8:30 to 9 pm. Signups begin at 6:45 for the short performances (less than 5 minutes per act). The emcee this month will be George Haver, and the event will be held inside the Village Homes Community Center, 2661 Portage Bay East, Davis.

The audience is encouraged to wear masks in the well-ventilated space. For information visit https:// www.facebook.com/ villagehomesperformers/