Director: Nicole Holofcener | Writer: Nicole Holofcener
Starring: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tobias Menzies, Michaela Watkins, Arian Moayed
More even than a director, Nicole Holofcener is a very talented screenwriter, with a variety of good films to her credit: Friends with Money, Enough Said, Every Secret Thing, Can You Ever Forgive Me, The Land of Steady Habits, The Last Duel. And You Hurt My Feelings is definitely right in her wheelhouse too; successful female writer, New York City, marriage, kids, getting older, the inherent comedy of every day life, all that jazz. This film is well-made and feels well-worn, like a comfortable old slipper that you would never throw away. It’s funny enough to have you laughing out loud and deep enough to make you think about your own life, your own family, and your own little white lies.
Beth is a writer whose last book, a memoir, did fairly well, but whose new book, a work of fiction, isn’t really finding traction. She worries that she’s lost her touch, she worries about her son’s future, she’s got a difficult family, a hard job teaching new writers; she loves her life but it ain’t easy. And when she overhears her husband, a therapist, who is having his own struggles with growing older and finding his place, saying to his best friend that he secretly doesn’t like her book, that’s just one blow too many. For Beth to get up off the canvas she’ll have to talk to her husband and come to terms with lies for love’s sake, if there is such a thing, and that failure now can lead to success later, which might be even harder to accept.
First off, what a great script, just funny dialogue followed by touching conversation, a real epitome of what it means to be in love, to be married, to need your partner, and how it feels when you perceive that they have rejected you. It’s a great example of a marriage, of a companionship, of how messy life can be even when you’re happy. You Hurt My Feelings isn’t melodrama, there aren’t twists, it’s just honest feeling, but it’s paired with true humor, which is what makes it so comforting and fun at the same time. Louis-Dreyfus is excellent, as always, perfectly cast as Holofcener herself perhaps, but I would say that I thought Menzies was a little replaceable; he wasn’t bad, I just think someone could have done better, and definitely many people could have done the same. A great film to watch with your partner, especially if you’re not millennials, this one is a good time (and a good cry) had by all.
My rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆