No Hard Feelings viewers are applauding an unlikely scene in the Jennifer Lawrence sex comedy.
The film stars Lawrence, 33, as Maddie, a strapped-for-cash Uber driver who is hired to date a wealthy couple’s socially awkward, 19-year-old son Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman).
Originally released in cinemas in late June, the film was recently made available to watch on Netflix in the US, broadening its reach and viewership.
While one of the more memorable scenes features some unexpected full-frontal nudity, a number of fans are praising a more inconspicuous moment.
Midway through the movie, Maddie and Percy agree to go on a date meant to make up for the proms they both skipped in high school.
Seated together in a swanky restaurant, Maddie notices a piano in the centre of the dining room, and quickly pressures Percy to go and play something.
He eventually gives in and begins to serenade the crowd with a slowed-down version of Daryl Hall and John Oates’s 1982 “Maneater”, a song that Percy previously told Maddie used to scare him as a child.
After he finishes and returns to his seat, a shocked Maddie immediately tells him: “What the f***? That was unbelievable. How did you even know that song?”
Several viewers have since shared similar reactions on X/Twitter, with one writing: “You’ll probably hear a lot of chatter about THAT scene of Jennifer Lawrence on the beach, but THIS scene stole the movie for me. It’s pure cinema.”
A second called the scene “a turning point for the story and its characters, flawlessly pulled off by JLaw and Feldman”.
“It was a beautiful scene cause I think it was the first time Maddie really got to see he’s more than just the awkward teen his parents paid her to like,” a third agreed. “And I like that ‘Maneater’ is almost like their song. It ironically describes the situation whether he knows it or not.”
“This movie was such a nice surprise. They genuinely don’t make them like this anymore. Great fun, at times hilarious, but at the end also has a heart,” another said.
“I’m glad this film is finding an audience. Definitely one of the biggest surprises of the year,” one said, with someone else adding that they “hope its arrival to Netflix allows more folks to see it. It’s a movie movie”.
In Clarisse Loughrey’s three-star review of the film for The Independent, she wrote: “There is complex character work and a pair of brilliant performances here, if you can get past the ‘outrageous setpieces’.”
No Hard Feelings is available to stream on Netflix in the US. A release date on Netflix UK has not yet been se
