Synopsis: Rachel (Kathryn Hahn) is a quick-witted and lovable, yet tightly coiled, thirty-something steeped in the creative class of Los Angeles’ bohemian, affluent Silver Lake neighborhood. Everything looks just right-chic modernist home, successful husband (Josh Radnor), adorable child, hipster wardrobe. So why is she going out of her gourd with ennui? Deadened by the stultifying realities of preschool auctions, a lackluster sex life, and career that’s gone kaput, Rachel visits a strip club to spice up her marriage and meets McKenna (Juno Temple), a stripper whom she becomes obsessed with saving. She decides to adopt McKenna as her live-in nanny, and this bold move unleashes unimagined and colorful waves of change into her life and community.
Release Date: August 30, 2013 MPAA Rating: PG-13
Genre(s): Comedy, Drama
Film Review
Production
In the realm of independent cinema, filmmakers are often trying so hard to be different and quirky that they forget that the first thing that is necessary for a successful film is a great story. Because of this, it’s especially refreshing when a clever, story-based film comes along. Afternoon Delight is one of these films.
Afternoon Delight is the story of Rachel (Kathryn Hahn from “Crossing Jordan”) and Jeff (Josh Radner from “How I Met Your Mother”), a couple who is stuck in a rut in regards to their marriage. In an effort to spice things up, the two go to a strip club and Jeff buys a lap dance for Rachel from a young dancer named McKenna (Killer Joe‘s Juno Temple). Rachel feels an immediate and powerful connection with McKenna, and the two become friends. When McKenna finds herself with nowhere to live, Rachel opens up her and Jeff’s home to the young girl.
After she moves in, Rachel discovers that McKenna is more than just a stripper; she’s a full-fledged prostitute, with regular clients and weekly appointments. Rachel offers to help McKenna get her life together but soon realizes that having her living in the same house as her unhappy husband and their young son is a bad idea. Meanwhile, McKenna soon learns that the situation may not be ideal for her, either. The situation becomes a powder keg, and the fuse is lit.
Writer Jill Soloway is a very experienced storyteller, with screen credits that include episodes of “Six Feet Under” and “The United States of Tara,” but Afternoon Delight is her feature film directorial debut. She’s doing something right because, although the film bravely traverses the murky waters between comedy and drama without really falling into either category squarely, it still works very well. It’s not especially funny or dramatic, but it has something that many of today’s films lack: heart. The characters are all very likable, so the shifting absence of a clear antagonist does not detract from the arc of the narrative. Afternoon Delight isn’t a feel-good movie, but it nonetheless makes the audience feel good.
The biggest success of Afternoon Delight is its ability to connect with its audience; every viewer will be able to relate to the sweetly dysfunctional characters. The flaws of the characters are detailed in sporadic therapy sessions between Rachel and her self-absorbed psychiatrist (played by Jane Lynch from “Glee”), so the troubles seem more human than abnormal. At its core, Afternoon Delight is about the differences and similarities in people, and the audience learns as much as the characters by the end.
Directing
Even though Afternoon Delight is Jill Soloway’s first feature-length film, the direction is great. Although the cast’s performances will try to take a lot of the luster off of Soloway’s shine, some of the credit for the chemistry and camaraderie should be shared with the director. Soloway also works well with her cinematographer, Jim Frohna (who has mainly shot documentary material but has worked on camera and lighting crews for The Usual Suspects and Adaptation), to give Afternoon Delight a very natural, warm look.
There are plenty of questionable photographic and editorial decisions that work really well. For example, in one scene Rachel discusses McKenna with her friend, Stephanie (Jessica St. Clair from Bridesmaids) while McKenna lounges by the pool in the background. The two chatty women frame McKenna, yet are completely out of focus while the camera is concentrated on the subject of their discussion. A shot that, at first, seems distracting turns into a way to draw attention to the subject of the discussion. Afternoon Delight is full of clever and interesting choices like that, giving the picture an atypical, independent feel.
Chemistry
While the acting as a whole in Afternoon Delight is strong, the cast really shines when they are given the opportunity to play off of each other. There is a comfortable tension, almost sexual in nature, between Katherine Hahn and Juno Temple, resulting in some real electricity when the pair is onscreen together. The chemistry between Hahn and Josh Radner is quite the opposite; the comfort that they exhibit is that of a stale relationship that is too routine – the characters are too comfortable with each other, and the actors play it well.
When Radnor and Temple share screen time, the electricity is back, but it is a forbidden, dirty secret type of electricity. Even the interplay between Hahn and Jane Lynch during their therapy sessions is just awkward enough to feel real. The chemistry of the cast is not limited to just the principles, either; the entire ensemble behaves like old friends, giving the film an almost improvised feel. When Rachel is spending time with her girlfriends, it feels like a genuine girl-talk slumber party. When Jeff is having a poker night with his boys, they behave like boys…and it feels completely authentic. The ensemble works well together, giving Afternoon Delight a very natural tone that is incredibly fun to watch.
Cast and Crew
- Director(s): Jill Soloway
- Screenwriter(s): Jill Soloway
- Cast: Kathryn Hahn (Rachel), Juno Temple (McKenna), Josh Radnor (Jeff), Jane Lynch (Lenore), Jessica St. Clair (Stephanie)
- Editor(s): Catherine Haight
- Cinematographer: Jim Frohna
- Music Score: Craig Wedren
- Country Of Origin: USA