Holofcener veteran Julia Louis-Dreyfus stars as Beth, a writer and professor living in Manhattan with her therapist husband, Don (Tobias Menzies). By all evidence, they\u2019re a loving couple with a solid relationship: they share food in a sweet way their son (Owen Teague) finds nauseating, they\u2019re still physically affectionate, and they marvel at their continued luck of being together. After the minor success of her memoir years ago, Beth has written a novel, but she has struggled with draft after draft. Even after her literary agent is less than enthusiastic about the manuscript, Don reassures her that it\u2019s great. However, she soon overhears him telling her brother-in-law (Arian Moayed) that he doesn\u2019t like it. His words shatter Beth\u2019s trust, leaving her questioning both her marriage and her abilities as a writer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe whole world is falling apart, and this is what\u2019s consuming you?\u201d Don asks his wife when she tells him why she\u2019s so upset, and it\u2019s easy to see the meta-commentary on Holofcener\u2019s movies. Similarly, Beth\u2019s agent says she\u2019ll have to compete against writers who have survived cancer or are refugees, when her story is far less inherently dramatic. Yet how Beth feels and what she writes are important to her; there\u2019s value in her experience and value in having this story on screen. Few lob the same criticism at Noah Baumbach or Woody Allen as they do at Holofcener, even though their films are dealing with problems of equal weight (though, tellingly, as experienced by upper-class white men). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Holofcener has also always had a gift for assembling deep rosters of actors well-matched to their roles, and You Hurt My Feelings <\/em>continues her streak. For her second collaboration with the filmmaker (after the sublime Enough Said<\/em>), Louis-Dreyfus ably mines Beth\u2019s insecurities, balancing them with wry humor and her love for her family. And when that family features two wonderful actresses \u2014 Michaela Watkins as her sister and Jeannie Berlin as her mother \u2014 the audience feels that same affection. (How has no one thought to cast Watkins and Louis-Dreyfus as sisters before this?!) Meanwhile, real-life spouses David Cross and Amber Tamblyn play a bickering married couple counseled by Menzies\u2019 Don, bringing delight to the viewers as they absolutely destroy each other verbally on his therapist couch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The problems explored in You Hurt My Feelings<\/em> may not impact the fate of humanity, but they matter to these characters \u2014 and they\u2019ll resonate with the audience. Holofcener\u2019s movies intentionally work on a much smaller scale than those that dominate the box office and online chatter, and that\u2019s part of their charm. The characters and situations in You Hurt My Feelings<\/em> may appear commonplace, but that seeming mundanity turns the film into something special.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “You Hurt My Feelings” is in theaters Friday.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/you-hurt-my-feelings-blog-image-1024x512.jpg\")
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However, these are<\/em> important questions, and ones that affect people every day. You Hurt My Feelings<\/em> explores whether it is better to be supportive or honest in our relationships \u2014 because you can\u2019t always be both. She also addresses how what we do isn\u2019t who we are, especially not to the people who really love us. It\u2019s a problem that people have to deal with everywhere, but it seems especially trenchant to think this through in a movie set in New York, a city full of ambition where it\u2019s particularly easy for jobs to define you, both socially and personally. A film that contemplates these ideas could be ponderous, but Holofcener retains a light touch. Her script is thoughtful and laugh-out-loud funny, both hallmarks of her work to date.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nB+<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n