THERE ARE MANY shocking moments in Jennifer Lawrence’s debauched new comedy, No Hard Feelings — the Oscar-winner drops C-bombs, lights her backside on fire and wrestles naked with some teenage thieves. But arguably the most shocking thing is that viewers can witness these outrageous antics in packed cinemas, rather than just on their sofas at home.
Yes, while the ’80s, ’90s and ’00s saw sweary, raunchy comedy reign supreme at the box office, the genre has faded from theatres over the past decade, with streaming swallowing all the explicit funny fare Hollywood had to offer. But this summer finds hard-R humour roaring back. With No Hard Feelings (rated 15 in the UK for “very strong language” and “strong sex references”) leading the way — and grossing an impressive $51 million and counting — anew slew of bawdy rib-ticklers are upon us. There’s Will Ferrell-voiced canine caper Strays, lesbian fight-club film Bottoms, and no-holds-barred road-trip romp Joy Ride — all indicating that studios are once more willing to bet on dirty jokes and NSFW slapstick.