Rent the Quietly Brilliant, Hugely Entertaining 'You Hurt My Feelings'
With warmth and wry humor, Julia Louis-Dreyfus' new film is the kind of movie we don’t see much of anymore. Rent it now on Sling.
Have you ever received a terrible gift and said, “oh I love it!” to whoever gave it to you? Or told your nephew “you played great!” when he downright stunk at the soccer game? You Hurt My Feelings, the latest from acclaimed filmmaker Nicole Holofcener, is about the little lies we tell each other, even with the best intentions. Smart and all-too-relatable, the film sparkles with observant insights about human behavior and the nuances within our closest relationships.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/20GWk5cWPBs
The film stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Beth, an author whose world gets upended when she overhears her beloved husband panning her most recent novel. The white liar is Don, played by Tobias Menzies, who has read dozens upon dozens of Beth’s book drafts for the last two years. “You’re the best there is,” he lovingly assures his wife.
Don’s seemingly endless support packs extra dynamite into the moment Beth eavesdrops on him admitting her book is no good. Desperate for Don’s approval, nothing could be more devastating, and Beth is shattered. The remainder of the film is about the healing and candor that comes out of this awkward turn of events.
Interestingly, the first 20 minutes of the movie is about the solidarity between Don and Beth. They plant deep kisses on each other, they exchange anniversary gifts. They’d just as soon share an ice cream cone as a bed. An otherwise happy American couple, the film reminds us that the little stings that happen in marriage, those that seriously hurt-like-hell, can happen to anyone.
And that’s the real beauty of this movie: it’s just so damn relatable. Beth is smart but worried her work isn’t moving the needle. Don is a therapist questioning his own competency. Beth’s sister Sarah (Michaela Watkins) is an interior decorator who wants to quit because “she’s sick of people”. And her husband Mark (Arian Moayed) is tired of being an actor with all the B.S. runaround that comes with it. Outside of the fact that they all live in the upper west side of NYC (cha-ching!) their vulnerabilities, insecurities, hopes, and mistakes feel deeply relatable and human.
It also has some truly laugh-out-loud moments, with Louis-Dreyfus playing a more serious role than we’re used to seeing while still flexing masterful comic chops. The scenes with her cantankerous New York mother are riotously funny, and the two sisters matching dry wit may have you rewinding moments to laugh all over again. The jokes are so perfectly placed they can be easy to miss.
You Hurt My Feelings is the kind of movie that doesn’t come around too often anymore. There’s no high-speed car chase nor amazing superpowers. It doesn’t focus on absurd situations or wild shifts in plot. With quiet, thoughtful craftsmanship, the film offers up relatable, earnest situations that feel deeply authentic. As viewers, it’s like we get to wear someone else’s skin for 90 minutes: Laughing along with their plight, understanding their awkwardness, and experiencing the cathartic release of storytelling at its best.
Stream You Hurt My Feelings for $19.99 as an early release rental on Sling! Here are other new titles now available to rent on Sling.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/POfC3TrDO24
Avatar: The Way of Water - $5.99
Fast X - $19.99
John Wick: Chapter 4 - $5.99
Fool's Paradise - $19.99
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania - $5.99
About My Father - $19.99
https://main--sling--aemsites.aem.page/aemedge/fragments/try-sling-combo