There are part of this movie that are ridiculous: Maddie (Jennifer Lawrence), after some skinnydipping, has to naked-karate-fight the pranksters who stole her clothes; scenes later, Maddie leaps onto a windshield and is driven into the ocean; in an earlier moment, her counterpart, a young loner named Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman), sings “Maneater” in a tuxedo like he’s Michael Buble (unironically, too, no one’s laughing).
But something works in this strange movie, where the broke, Uber-driving Maddie has been hired by Percy’s parents (Matthew Broderick, Laura Benanti) to bang the awkward loner out of his shell before he heads to Princeton. The feelings here, if not hard, are heartfelt, especially between Maddie and Percy; it’s enjoyable to see them on screen, even in the film’s ridiculous setups. Lawrence is game and funnier than anyone in the movie—watching her go Maneater (and watching Feldman serve himself up to be eaten) makes the movie worth watching. The duo shines here; the movie is almost goofy and stupid; thankfully the main characters and actors are not.
***RECOMMEND***
FAVORITE ACTING: Jennifer Lawrence, Andrew Barth Feldman, Laura Benanti, Natalie Morales and Scott MacArthur (a couple that’s been together too long, yet will probably be together forever)
Billy Movie Reviews 