A novelist whose long standing marriage is suddenly upended when she overhears her husband give his honest reaction to her new book. A film by Nicole Holofcener, starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tobias Menzies, Owen Teague, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, and Jeannie Berlin.

Beth (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), a novelist and writing professor, and Don (Tobias Menzies) a psychiatrist, are a wonderful married couple. They are still madly in love, and they share their meals and ice cream, which their son Eliot (Owen Teague) finds repulsive.

Beth has been working on her new novel for two years, following the publication of her well-received memoir, “I Had To Tell It.” However, her longtime agent Sylvia (LaTanya Richardson Jackson) is skeptical of her latest novel, believing it will not be a commercially success.

Don has recently begun to doubt his own abilities to assist his patients. He’s zoning out and forgetting personal details about his patients that he’s supposed to know. He dislikes Beth’s new work, but he wants to be supportive of his wife, so he continues to encourage her by praising each draft she sends him to read.

Eliot works at cannabis store, while drafting a play script in order to become a playwright. Every time Beth meets her son, she can’t help, but giving him compliments on how great the play would be. Despite the fact that she had never read a script written by her son before.

Sarah (Michaela Watkins) is Beth’s sister who runs an interior decorator business. Lately, she has been meeting with a demanding client who never appears to be satisfied with anything. Sarah is married to Mark (Arian Moayed), an insecure mediocre struggling actor best known for a film he did ten years ago. She and Beth also volunteer at church’s clothing giveaway.

One day, Beth and Sarah decide to sneak up on Mark and Dom while they are out shopping for socks. Beth overhears Dom discussing with Mark that he doesn’t like her new book, and he feels compelled to tell her the truth but he’s unable to. Beth is devastated and begins to doubt everything about her life with Dom.

YOU HURT MY FEELINGS is one of the best comedy-drama films I’ve seen in years. The cast is incredible, not only for their performances but also for how well they fit into their roles; Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Michaela Watkins look like they could be sisters in real life, Owen Teague also looks like he could be related to Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tobias Menzies.

There’s something special about the script written by Nicole Holofcener, it feels natural and believable. Every character talks and acts like real people do. There are so many memorable funny moments such as when Beth’s mother Georgia (Jeannie Berlin) wants her daughter to bring potato salad home in tin foil, or Don’s patients believe they’re entitled for a full refund after two years of therapy session which they’re not satisfied with the result.

As in real life, people tend to have a certain degree of white lie in their relationships, mother complimenting her son that he’s good at something even though he’s not, lovers pretend to like the gifts they give each other, husband lies because he wants to support his wife, and vice versa. Does that make them a liar? Perhaps it’s more complicate than that.

YOU HURT MY FEELINGS premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on 22 January 2023. The film was theatrically released in USA by A24 on 26 May.