You Hurt My Feelings, the latest movie from author/director Nicole Holofcener, by no means feels prefer it has any important stakes, however that’s one of its best strengths. The movie, which facilities on author Beth (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and her therapist husband Don (Tobias Menzies), is the form of mild, snug, and comforting comedy that’s excellent for weekend afternoon viewing.
The characters in the movie haven’t any monetary considerations, aren’t at risk (the one scene in the film with a weapon is laugh-out-loud humorous, not tense or visceral), and most don’t even have to fret about their relationships dissolving. It’s a movie that facilities on the rich, however not egregiously so, individuals who solely have to fret about their relationships and feelings, which may, of course, be mined for drama, but additionally make it a lot simpler to maintain issues enjoyable.
Support or Honesty?
The battle of the movie takes a while to look. The first third or so appears like a hangout movie targeted on adults. We see Beth and her sister Sarah (Michaela Watkins) on outings, Beth working with writing college students at the New School, and a glimpse of the virtually too-perfect romance that Don and Beth have stored alive for over twenty years of marriage.
But at some point, when Beth and Sarah plan to shock Don and Sarah’s actor husband Mark (Arian Moayed) whereas the males are purchasing collectively, Beth overhears Don telling Mark that he doesn’t like her new e book. When Beth has requested Don about it, he has mentioned that he likes it, that it’s wonderful, that she must be assured in the work she’s completed, and that it’s going to do nicely. So when she hears his confession to his brother-in-law, she’s upset.
That distinction between honesty and help, and what our romantic companions might want and want from us, is a incredible focus for the movie, and Holofcener does a incredible job exploring it. There are scenes of Beth and Sarah discussing it wherein Sarah admits that she doesn’t at all times assume Mark is a superb actor however at all times tells him she does. Don and Beth’s twenty-three-year-old son Elliott (Owen Teague) takes his mom to activity for at all times telling him he’s distinctive.
These scenes really feel actual in a manner that makes the viewer take into account their ideas on when to be sincere and when to be supportive, or precisely what the finest compromise between the two is that if they don’t at all times go hand in hand. What’s outstanding is that even throughout these generally uncomfortably frank conversations about what all of us do to guard our beloved one’s emotions from our personal, Holofcener retains issues mild and humorous.
She has a eager talent of intertwining her dramatic scenes with humor that permits them to land emotionally and intellectually with out changing into overbearing and tipping the scales of the movie too far-off from comedy.
Comedy of Life
It’s additionally outstanding that whereas Holofcener features a few scenes of broad comedy, most of the humor in the movie comes from small interactions. It’s humor that’s not in the content material of the phrases however of their supply. Quiet responses and throwaway feedback mentioned extra to oneself than anybody else are the comedian bread and butter of the movie, which sustains itself nicely.
Of course, credit score for that goes to actors who do an exquisite job of inviting us into their world and making us look after these characters inside the first few scenes in order that once they make throwaway feedback, we all know the place they’re coming from. It’s a feat that few films pull off and one thing usually reserved for long-running sitcoms which have the time to develop characters and make the viewers really feel at residence with these characters.
Even the aspect characters, who present most of the broad comedy, really feel like folks we’ve recognized for years experiencing all too widespread points. Some of the funniest scenes in the film come courtesy of real-life couple David Cross and Amber Tamblyn, taking part in a long-struggling and more and more agitated married couple who’ve spent years with Don however have seen no outcomes. These scenes are performed huge by the couple, however they by no means really feel unreal, which makes them match proper in with the relaxation of the movie.
A Delightful, If Forgettable Trip Into Other People’s Lives
You Hurt My Feelings is a stunning little film that can make you snigger and really feel heat just by drawing you into its world for an hour and a half. But it’s not the most memorable movie. The lightness and the matter-of-factness of most of its comedy make it really feel like it might turn out to be a consolation film traditional for some viewers and be forgotten by the finish of the yr by others.
Nothing is fallacious with that, particularly with one thing as subjective as comedy. But it retains the movie from transcending past a stunning little film.
Rating: 6.5/10 SPECS
You Hurt My Feelings releases in theaters nationwide on May twenty sixth.
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This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
Kyle Logan is a movie and tv critic and basic popular culture author who has written for Alternative Press, Cultured Vultures, Film Stories, Looper, and extra. Kyle is especially concerned with horror and animation, in addition to style movies written and directed by queer folks and ladies. Along with writing, Kyle organizes a Queer Film Challenge on Letterboxd.
