On the brink of losing her childhood home due to back property taxes to be paid, Maddie Barker (Jennifer Lawrence) discovers an intriguing job listing: wealthy helicopter parents, Allison Becker (Laura Benanti) and Laird Becker (Matthew Broderick) looking for someone to "date" their introverted, socially-stunted 19-year-old son, Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman), before he leaves for college, Maddie soon discovers the awkward Percy is no sure thing. Maddie has one summer to make Percy a man, or die trying.
Others to round out the cast are Natalie Morales as Sara, Scott MacArthur as Jim, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Gary, Kyle Mooney as Jody, Hasan Minhaj as Doug Kahn, Jordan Mendoza as Crispin, Amalia Yoo as Natalie, Alysia Joy Powell as Fern and Quincy Dunn-Baker as Travis.
This was humorously directed by Gene Stupnitsky ("Good Boys" '19) plus TV. This filmmaker is one of several writers that have transitioned from writing to the directing field and Stupnitsky has excelled well in the crossover. His pacing and staging are well thought out and his ability to showcase his lead actors to emit those many emotions needed to convey their totally different personas made for a very funny combination. He will receive more work. It was written with heart and pathos by Gene Stupnitsky ("Year One" '09, "Bad Teacher" '11, "Hello Ladies: The Movie" '14, "Gorgeous Morons" (TV movie) '16, "Good Boys" '19) plus TV and John Phillips ("Dirty Grandpa" '16). Obviously, because Stupnitsky spearheading the lion's share of the experience here over Phillips, he received top billing. I'm sure Phillips was pivotal with the input he provided, however, this was clearly Stupnitsky's baby. Certainly, by his very resume, he is definitely within the confines of his comfort zone and that's OK, because he then can give us what he does best. This was well sequenced as it was a tight script. Was it perfect? No, not at all, but it was exceedingly better written and therefore much funnier that I ever expected. Even with the brief nudity and some of the expletives, I feel they were mostly used for an effective reason, than just there to sell seats. Mind you, this is definitely not for the kids so beware.
If you like comedies, you'll love this. The best thing about this is the chemistry between Lawrence and Feldman. Lawrence was great in this comedy and should perform in more of them. It was a rights-of-passage film for both of them, seeing as how Percy needed to come out of his shell, and Maddie clearly needed more maturity in her life. As they were getting to know one another more, they were able to become the friends they were destined to be.
Out of 4 Stars: 3 Rated: R 103mins.
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