I recently watched Jennifer Lawrence’s raunchy comedy No Hard Feelings (2023). I’m sorry to say, it’s pretty bad!! However, if you squint and dream a little, you will find a crystal clear anti-car message, which I appreciate.
The movie has an awkward premise: the overly concerned parents of a 19-year-old boy hire a 32-year-old woman to “date” him and bring him out of his shell. The comedy, which is also awkward, does little to salvage the premise.
Quick aside: I do see a sweet, somewhat redeeming commentary hidden in there– a rebuttal of the moral panic promulgated by media outlets over the fact that Gen-Z doesn’t drink or have sex as frequently as previous generations. The boy’s parents initially subscribe to this panic. They worry that their child (Percy) is missing key adolescent milestones involving sex, drugs, and partying due to excessive social inhibitions that he must overcome to find success and happiness in life. Jennifer Lawrence’s character (Maddie) tends to agree with them. Meanwhile, young Percy is largely portrayed as a smart, sweet, and sensitive boy who (along with his peers) is not particularly impressed with Maddie’s ability to party or get laid. He is confused about her lifestyle, which doesn’t seem to make her happy, and points this out to her. In the end, we get something of a dialectical synthesis– they both learn to be a bit more like each other. And that’s nice.
But back to the anti-car message.
I am being a bit cheeky here, but look, the inciting incident for the story is that Maddie’s car is repossessed! As an Uber driver and bartender, she desperately needs the car. She is at risk of losing her home, compounded by losing her livelihood.
In a scene played for laughs, she tries stealing the car right off the tow truck, landing in legal trouble. In a scene played for laughs, she is seen dork-ily rollerblading to work while angry drivers honk their displeasure with her absurd transgression. What a loser!
Then her friend reads her the strange Craigslist ad posted by Percy’s parents: they want someone to “date” their son in exchange for, not cash, but a Buick Regal.
The plot is driven forward by the car-dependent society in which the story is set. Maddie is compelled to degrade and prostitute herself to obtain a car so she can make a living. I think all of this is meant to be taken for granted as perfectly ordinary and rational, at least to an American audience. But my question is: what if she didn’t need a car?? What if she could rollerblade to work in safety and joy? What a vivid depiction of the perpetual economic burden of car dependence and the depravity that can ensue!
This movie is pretty bad, and I’m sure its impassioned plea for walkable, bikeable, and transit-oriented communities is strictly accidental. Nevertheless, I am pleased to welcome comrade Jennifer Lawrence and her dumb film to the War on Cars.