Where Is The ‘No Hard Feelings’ Beach Scene Set?

No Hard Feelings, which is now available to buy on digital platforms like Amazon Prime, may be a raunchy, R-rated comedy, but that doesn’t mean the it can’t offer some thoughtful critique about class issues. And that’s exactly what the movie does, thanks to its Montauk, New York setting.

In the movie, Jennifer Lawrence’s character, Maddie, is a lifetime resident of Montauk, New York. She resents the recent influx of wealthy residents, who are driving up real estate prices and driving working-class people out of their homes. That includes the on-screen parents of her co-star, Andrew Barth Feldman.

According to a GQ interview with director and co-writer Gene Stupnitsky, that part of the story was inspired by the wave of wealthy city residents who fled to second homes in small towns during the pandemic. “It kind of upset the balance of that ecosystem,” Stupnitsky said.

The director didn’t want to devote too much of the film to that issue, but he does make Montauk a key role in the story. Here’s what to know about where No Hard Feelings is set and where No Hard Feelings was filmed.

Where does No Hard Feelings take place?

No Hard Feelings is set in Montauk, New York, which is a tourist beach destination in the Town of East Hampton, on the tip of Long Island. Though the local population is largely working-class, during the summer, Montauk is overrun by rowdy tourists. Hence, Maddie’s annoyance at the drunk teens who stumble onto the beach when she and Percy are taking a midnight dip in the ocean. After she finishes kicking their butts, she yells, “And stay the f–k out of Montauk!”

Where was the No Hard Feelings beach scene filmed?

No Hard Feelings was filmed on location for one week in Montauk, including at the famous Montauk Point Lighthouse and a scene on Gosman’s Dock.

But the majority of the movie—including the No Hard Feelings beach scene, aka the scene where a naked Jennifer Lawrence beats up some drunk teenagers—was filmed outside of Montauk, in Nassau County. (And no, Lawrence did not use a body double, with the exception of a single shot that used a stunt double to perform a pro-wrestling move.) That filming took place in the towns of Hempstead, Point Lookout, Lawrence, and Uniondale. For the scenes at the animal shelter, the production filmed at North Shore Animal League of America in Port Washington.

“We kind of faked Montauk all through Nassau County,” location manager Josh Dorn said in an interview with Newsday.

For star Andrew Barth Feldman, who was born and raised on Long Island in Manhasset, the production was very close to home. In an interview for the No Hard Feelings production notes, Feldman said, “We shot so much of this movie down the street from the house that I grew up in, on Long Island, in the Five Towns, Nassau County. I stayed in my childhood home during filming. I used to go to the laser tag place where we shot a scene. Our base camp was where all my county choir concerts were. It felt like my life was collapsing in on itself in a beautiful way.” Feldman concluded, “It really felt like a homecoming in a lot of ways.”