Review: Julia Louis-Dreyfus Second-Guesses Her Talent and Marriage in ‘You Hurt My Feelings’

For those who find Nancy Meyers, Sofia Coppola and Amy Heckerling too mainstream, there is Nicole Holofcener. Beginning her career as an apprentice for fellow New Yorkers Woody Allen and Martin Scorses,e and later as a writer on the Disney Channel coming-of-age series “Ready or Not” (1993-94), Holofcener broke through her own filmmaking career in the 2000s with slice-of-life romantic dramedies like Lovely and Amazing (2001) and Friends with Money (2006).

As with Meyers’ work, Holofcener’s characters are usually older, upper-middle-class women going through some kind of dilemma, usually involving a relationship or family. But with the latter’s movies, we get a bit more casual, laid-back tone that we now associate with indie and mid-budget flicks. Her latest effort, You Hurt My Feelings, is familiar territory for fans, but delivers what the writer-director does best.

In today’s Manhattan, Beth (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is a writer who is struggling to get her second book published. While her first book was a memoir about her early life, this time she’s giving fiction a shot. Her husband, Don (Tobias Menzies) is a psychiatrist who is second guessing his strength and interest in advising his clients. Their son, Elliott (Owen Teague) is a college graduate running a marijuana dispensary.

When Beth overhears Don secretly reveal he doesn’t think her current book is that good, her ego is shattered, and she starts having doubts about both her talent and their marriage. Meanwhile, Elliott is having his own quarter-life crisis and confesses he doesn’t think Beth and Don were good enough parents.

Michaela Watkins and Arian Moayed play Beth’s sister and brother-in-law, while real-life couple David Cross and Amber Tamblyn appear as tempestuous spouses who regularly visit Don’s office. You Hurt My Feelings reunites Holofcener with Louis-Dreyfus since Enough Said (2013), and reminds us the two naturally mesh just as well as Holofcener with her fave female lead Catherine Keener during the first decade of her directing career.

Louis-Dreyfus, who somehow seems to not bat quite as well in film as she does on TV, exudes charm here and has finally found the best creator for her cinematic material. Though it’s a bit jarring to hear the English actor with an American accent at first, Menzies does well as Don and the supporting cast of You Hurt My Feelings are a treat too.

The plot isn’t too complicated or mind-blowing, but it’s nice to have a swift 93-minute movie focus on everyday occurrences and end on a heartwarming note. While I would have preferred the script to be a tiny bit more fleshed out — there’s a subplot involving Beth’s mother played by Jeannie Berlin that doesn’t feel fully concluded — You Hurt My Feelings is just fine for an easy viewing.