Julia Louis-Dreyfuss reteams with Nicole Holofcener for this charming slice-of-life comedy.
Beth (Julia Louis-Dreyfuss) is a teacher and writer, whose last work was well-reviewed but largely overlooked. With her latest book completed, Beth struggles with her insecurity and career when her agent rejects it. To makes matter worse, she finds out her husband (Tobias Menzies) isn't much of a fan of it either...
As much as Julia Louis-Dreyfuss made a name for herself as part of the quartet of 'Seinfeld', her work and comedy have always had a caustic taste to it. 'Veep' saw her sharp edges on full display, as did the shortlived sitcom 'The New Adventures of Old Christine'. Yet, when she's paired with writer-director Nicole Holofcener, there's something much more human and less acerbic. 2013's excellent 'Enough Said' saw Louis-Dreyfuss play a divorced mother on the verge of an empty nest who's trying for love a second time around with none other than the late, great James Gandolfini. This time around, she plays a relatively successful writer in a happy, if co-dependent marriage to Tobias Menzies.
There's a real sense of understated, deeply personal comedy in 'You Hurt My Feelings'. There are no big, blow-out spectacles or setpieces, but rather a kind of believable humour to it that delivers some big laughs throughout. In particular, the scenes with her on-screen mother played by Jeannie Berlin are far too real for them to be merely concocted from thin air. The easygoing, ad-libbed nature of some of the scenes between Louis-Dreyfuss and Menzies just adds to the light touch that 'You Hurt My Feelings' possesses, and only comes from a place of real confidence.
In the same spirit of other New York comedy dramas like 'Annie Hall' or 'When Harry Met Sally', there's a real sense that 'You Hurt My Feelings' just ambles along from scene to scene, all of them given appropriate time and space to build up and set down without the need for a specific punchline or pause for audience laughter. Menzies, who isn't a conventional comedic performer, is well cast with Louis-Dreyfuss and has a warm and convincing connection as husband and wife. Louis-Dreyfuss, as you'd expect, is on stellar form in this and is able to communicate so much comedy with a look or a glance.
At just over 90 minutes, 'You Hurt My Feelings' is an easygoing comedy-drama that deals with honesty and bullshit in a lived-in way. There's a real sense of intelligence to how the story plays out, but it's not high-brow or inaccessible - quite the opposite, in fact. What it deals with is human and connective in a way that a lot of comedies tend to ignore or move around to get at something more obvious. It might be a little trite in parts, and there's a hint of incredulity to some aspects - what writer lives in an apartment that size in New York unless they've got 'Seinfeld' money?! - but overall, 'You Hurt My Feelings' is a comedy delight for grown-ups.