You Hurt My Feelings review: let’s process some emotions

You Hurt My Feelings stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a writer named Beth who discovers her husband doesn’t like her books as much as he told her he did. The revelation leads to several problems and heartaches.

You Hurt My Feelings stars Tobias Menzies as Beth’s husband Ben. Ben is a therapist, a pretty terrible one. Some of the comedy in the film comes from his therapy sessions. There’s humor everywhere in the film.

Beth has published one book. A memoir. She’s been working on another one for two years.

The small cast includes Michaela Watkins as Sarah, Beth’s sister. After seeing Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Michaela Watkins together in this film, I have to wonder why they’ve never been cast as sisters before. They have perfect sister chemistry. They resemble each other enough to be believable.

Sarah is married to Mark (Arian Moayed). Mark has struggled to make it as an actor for years with almost no success. Finally there is Beth and Ben’s son, Eliot (Owen Teague). He works in a pot store. Like his mother, Eliot is a struggling writer.

The film was written and directed by Nicole Holofcener. It’s a small story, with angsty characters who are never sure about their own worth. In multiple ways, Holofcener shows how people try to show love, support, and encouragement to each other by making their praise better than it should be. Ben tells Beth he loves her books. Beth tells Ben he’s a great therapist. Beth tells Eliot she loves his screenplay. Sarah tells Mark he’s a great actor. Mark tells Sarah she’s a great interior designer.

That kind of support is loving, but it’s not always truthful or helpful. When Beth finds out how Ben really feels, she’s hurt. She’s narcissistic enough to be derailed by criticism. It almost destroys them. But in Holofcener’s hands, it leads to an evolution. The characters in this emotional drama are so real and so human. The cast does a beautiful job.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Nicole Holofcener worked together before in the beautiful film Enough Said. If you’ve never seen that one it’s worth looking for. You Hurt My Feelings is easy to find right now because it’s streaming on Netflix and Paramount+.