NO HARD FEELINGS

Jennifer Lawrence Just Did a Naked Fight Scene, and It’s Glorious

I’m not even talking about her body

On a Saturday so humid you could drink the air, my family and I chose to escape to the movie theater. That’s how I came to see Jennifer Lawrence’s raunchy new comedy No Hard Feelings.

Lawrence’s character, Maddie, needs money quickly so she answers a Craigslist ad from two ultra-supreme helicopter parents who want someone to sleep with their son, Percy before he heads off to college in the fall.

Percy is a product of his environment, highly anxious, socially awkward, and completely lacking in initiative. At 19, he navigates the world like a 12-year-old. Desperate, his parents try this “unconventional” way of building his confidence and life experience.

Not only is Maddie much older, but life has put her through the wringer. So she has a hard time covering her disdain for Percy, even as she tries fruitlessly to seduce him.

The movie is better than it needs to be considering Lawrence’s popularity. There are numerous belly laughs, especially in the first half, as well as a few genuinely touching moments.

It’s a light, fun time at the movies that I would’ve forgotten immediately had it not been for one thing: the fight scene.

Maddie’s used to guys falling all over her, so when sweet, diffident Percy rebuffs her advances, she’s perplexed. Going for broke, Maddie convinces Percy to go skinny dipping. But just as she’s about to land a kiss, three rich teens decide to steal their clothes for kicks.

While Percy dithers, Maddie takes control by striding out of the water naked and unafraid to kick some teenage ass. In some ways, it’s a conventional movie fight scene, where each villain patiently waits their turn to attack. In other ways, it’s not, like when Maddie takes a forceful punch to the nether regions.

The scene lasts about 2 minutes and there’s no strategic positioning to hide Lawrence’s body. There’s also no body double doing the revealing parts. As Maddie, she’s completely unself-conscious, lost in the moment — outraged that some jerks are trying to humiliate her. She’s lost both parents and lives on the verge of bankruptcy. She doesn’t get to be precious, she’s got to fight.

Jennifer Lawrence played both Katniss Everdeen in Hunger Games and Mystique in X-Men, so it shouldn’t have come as such a shock to me that she can stage fight, but it did. Every punch, jab, and kick felt real and powerful. Her fight face is impeccable, and on full display when she manages to get the muscled guy off of her with a wrestling-style backflip.

Not only does she kick butt; she does it naked and soaking wet.

She was completely in character, and the entire theater watched in quiet awe. There were no giggles, no Beavis and Butt-Head laughs from the young guns (“heh heh heh, boobs.”) All I heard were empathetic groans when she takes one below the belt and an impressed “Whoa.”

Whoa, indeed. Lawrence is a big enough box office draw that she doesn’t have to be naked onscreen if she doesn’t choose to. And normally, she doesn’t choose to. Even playing a seductress, she’s fully covered for the rest of the movie, including the sex scenes.

The first time Jennifer Lawrence was naked for the world to see, she didn’t choose to be. In 2014, her ex-boyfriend’s phone was hacked, and nude photos of her were leaked online.

Her comment at the time made it clear she was understandably furious about the situation and the many people who took advantage of it.

“Anyone who looked at those photos, you’re perpetuating a sexual offense. You should cower with shame. Even people who I know and love say, ‘Oh, yeah, I looked at the pictures.’ I don’t want to get mad, but at the same time I’m thinking, I didn’t tell you that you could look at my naked body.”

A lot has changed in nine years. Lawrence recently had a baby, which may make some women even more shy to do a scene like this. But as a producer on No Hard Feelings, she made it clear she was fully on board with the nude scene.

“Everyone in my life and my team is doing the right thing and going, ‘Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure?’ I didn’t even have a second thought. It was hilarious to me.”

Traditionally women’s nudity onscreen is much more about objectification than empowerment. Female characters get naked while fully clothed male actors watch, leering. It feels like the actor is a step away from doing a nudge-nudge-wink-wink straight to the camera.

The best most actresses who get naked can hope for is that they’re playing someone who’s owning her power versus a disposable commodity.

In this scene, the nudity is played for humor, but Lawrence isn’t the butt of the joke (figuratively, at least). She’s not there to be mocked, judged, or ogled. The action is impressive. The nudity simply adds the levity required for it to remain comedic.

It’s rare that a woman’s nude scene feels empowering, but this one does. It reminds me of when actor Emilia Clarke, as Daenerys in Game of Thrones, emerges naked from a fire. Her character is taking control of her fate by proving herself to the powerful Dothraki.

It’s an incredible, awe-inspiring scene. And Clarke was proud of it, saying “This is all me, all proud, all strong. I’m just feeling genuinely happy I said ‘Yes.’ That ain’t no body double!”

My family and I were all left with the impression that Jennifer Lawrence is similarly badass, a powerful woman to be admired. It feels like a lot to say a nude scene in a raunchy comedy makes a feminist statement. But, like Clarke, she’s playing a strong woman proving herself to those around her to get what she needs. She just happens to be doing it naked.

What of her body? As you probably expected, it’s amazing.

But that’s completely beside the point.

No Hard Feelings is now in theaters.