Faced with losing the home she already owns to ruinous Montauk property taxes, townie Maddie comes across an intriguing Craigslist ad, placed by some helicopter parents seeking a “companion” that can bring their socially awkward, Princeton-bound son out of his shell before being exposed to the excesses of college. Make a man out of him, nudge-nudge, wink-wink.

If this kind of airy, low-stakes sex comedy is to see a revival, I couldn’t think of anyone better to start it off than Jennifer Lawrence. The reason she’s currently the highest-paid actress in the industry is that she is capable of making iffy, borderline stuff like this work. The engaging chemistry between Lawrence and Andrew Barth Feldman (spot-on, showing great range in a narrow role), as the young tutee, is what makes this movie, if not laugh-out-loud funny, certainly a constant chuckle.

Not great, and in places a little squirm-inducing (it is, after all, about bought sex), it’s nevertheless way better than you thought it would be and has a ton of heart. (103 min)