“For an American for whom this was his first classic Indian film, it was very exotic,” Tom tells The Better India over email. Thomas Daniel is a 74-year-old from Hawaii (Source: Thomas Daniel)Īround 15 years ago, Tom watched the milestone film Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulaam (1962) for the first time. But for an American with seemingly no connection to India barring two visits in the 70s, where does this love for reviving old Indian classics come from? So far, his channel has amassed over 80,000 subscribers, and he has restored around 200 films in Hindi, Urdu, and more recently, Bengali. On average, the septuagenarian, a resident of Hawaii, dedicates around 40 hours to restore one film. “The goal of this channel,” he writes under one video, “is to restore films as much as possible to their condition when projected in the movie theatres of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, or Lahore, 60, 70, 80 or more years ago.” These videos go through hours of rework and restoration, where the 73-year-old collates bits and pieces from all over - old VHS tapes, DVDs, downloaded videos, VCDs, and the like. It’s rated R.It’s not just that Tom, a retired fisherman, finds classic old Indian movies and uploads them onto his channel, tommydan55. “No Hard Feelings” premieres June 23 in US theaters. But credit Lawrence with finding a worthwhile character in a movie that offers unexpected rewards for those who’ll see it, whether that’s in theaters or, more likely, after it wades into the more hospitable waters of pay TV and streaming. The sequence encapsulates how the film aims higher than one might expect, in a way that, given the current theatrical climate, makes “No Hard Feelings” no easy sell for a studio marketing department. To her credit, Lawrence (who doubles as a producer) lustily dives into that aspect, including a nighttime skinny-dipping scene – as she tries to coax the reluctant, rule-following lad into the water – that underscores how the movie manages to simultaneously be broadly funny, clever (Percy cites the parallels to “Jaws”) and indicative of the hostility that she carries around with her. It’s a form of emotional paralysis reminiscent of “The Graduate,” though to be clear, not nearly that good.įor Maddie, life consists of one-night stands and feeling less-than due to the class distinction of growing up with her nose pressed up against the glass watching the privileged folk on the other side.įeldman’s youthful appearance makes him seem even more vulnerable and the mercenary aspects of Maddie’s task feel dicier. In Percy’s case, the issue involves having shrunken into himself and an online world, and “helicopter parents” that want him to grow up while simultaneously making it harder for him to actually do that. Yet “No Hard Feelings” (a generic title that also indicates the studio didn’t really quite get what they had here) also has a poignant side in exploring the odd friendship that develops between these two characters, each damaged in different ways. Maddie is a little older than what they envisioned as a potential seductress (turning Lawrence’s age into a running gag turns out to be pretty inspired), but she convinces them that women Percy’s age are idiots, and besides, she really, really needs the car they’re offering.ĭirected and co-written by Gene Stupnitsky (sharing script credit with fellow “The Office” alum John Phillips), what ensues could easily have become a bawdy R-rated comedy with lots of over-the-top situations, and there’s some of that. She blames her dire financial straits on the influence of wealthy summer residents to the seaside town of Montauk, where she lives, making it extra difficult on her struggling cohort to get by.Įnter a wealthy couple (Matthew Broderick, Laura Benanti) who place an ad for someone to date (that would be the polite way of putting it) their 19-year-old son, Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman, in a strong step up for the “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” co-star), and “bring him out of his shell” before he enrolls at Princeton. Lawrence’s Maddie is pretty, but she’s also desperate, at risk of losing her house and with her car getting repossessed, particularly bad news for a part-time Uber driver. Part French sex comedy, part “American Pie”-like coming-of-age story, this raunchy vehicle for Jennifer Lawrence also possesses darker and deeper streaks that elevate it above its “Pretty. “No Hard Feelings” is the kind of hard-to-characterize movie that isn’t served by a splashy ad campaign, in mostly good ways.
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