You Hurt My Feelings – A Moving Relationship Dramedy

Whether it’s artwork, a book, a speech or a piece of music, almost every human being on the planet has asked themselves, is it good enough? The opinions of others are deeply important to everyone, but none are more crucial than those of our loved ones. When one doubts their own work, they instantly turn to those loved ones for their honest yet loving opinions. However, there is always some sort of implicit bias there as the wanting to be supportive often wins out over one’s better judgement. In the end, we tend to trust our loved ones’ opinions because… well, they’re our loved ones. Though how would one feel when they found out that underneath that supporting façade, those closest to us really don’t like our work? You Hurt My Feelings is a dramedy that deeply explores these themes to great effect.

You Hurt My Feelings is simply fantastic as its subtle style of humor never fails to leave audiences in stitches. Its likable all-star cast, featuring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tobias Menzies, and Michaela Watkins just to name a few, are hilarious, elevating the material and grounding the story in their collective flawed yet relatable humanity. Meanwhile, the strong chemistry across the board is incredibly infectious. In the midst of the upcoming summer blockbuster season, it may be a smaller indie flick but is one that should not be missed and is easily among some of the best films of the year so far.

The story follows Beth (Louis-Dreyfus), an author and college professor whose marriage gets put to the test after she happens to overhear her therapist husband Don (Tobias Menzies) share his honest feelings about her upcoming book which were nowhere near as favorable as the ones he shared with her. From there, the film’s sets the tone in terms of humor over the series of therapy sessions for whom Don presided where he often sat there in awe. Overwhelmed in his personal and professional lives, these lives eventually began to bleed into each other. On the other hand, Beth was left reeling, questioning her choices and relationships with Don and the other people in her life. The humor, while subtle, was nowhere near a hinderance for the film’s cast of proven comedy powerhouses who, saddled with a sharp script, deliver stellar performances.

Holofcener truly has a gift when it comes to writing cringey and uncomfortable humor and that gift can be felt throughout. Her script offers a genius and fresh take on relationships through the lens of trust and the disillusion of trust. As cringey and uncomfortable as it was, it also had plenty of heart. Crafting deeply engaging characters, the roller coaster arc of Beth and Don’s relationship, and their ups and downs, from sharing food with one another to joking around with one another and supporting one another, was compelling to watch and also emotional. There was clearly love there and because of the connection the film makes between its characters and audiences, audiences can’t help but want the best for Beth and Don and hope that the two eventually sort out their issues and get back together again. That being said, in order to get there, each would have their individual powerful moments of introspection that made their reconciliation that much more satisfying.

At the end of the day, You Hurt My Feelings is an exceptional film. Writer/director Nicole Holofcener presents a hilarious, moving, and relatable take on relationships featuring some of the best comedic scenes of the year so far. The sensational cast help elevate Holofcener’s already genius script. Ultimately, there are simply not enough words to praise this dramedy which is, without a doubt, among one of the year’s best films.

*still courtesy of Elevation Pictures*

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Olly Dyche

Journalist, Writer, Film Critic and Professional Nerd. You will probably find Olly at the cinema chomping down on some popcorn and taking in the glorious visuals of the latest theatrical release.