No one does a mid-life crisis better than Kathryn Hahn. Afternoon Delight (2013) starring her, Josh Radnor, and Juno Temple was really her first starring role in a film before shooting some of my favorites like Captain Fantastic (2016), Private Life (2018), or the HBO series Mrs. Fletcher (2019). In Afternoon Delight she plays Rachel, a 30-something year-old mom of one who is stressed out by her sexless marriage, a therapist she doesn’t like, a group of girlfriends she doesn’t fit in with, motherhood, and adulthood in general. In need of a boost, one of her girlfriends suggests they go on a double-date to a local strip club. While there she meets McKenna, a teenage stripper played by Temple, who intrigues her. They strike up a friendship that fills a strong void in Rachel’s life and gives her sense of purpose, but also has its challenges and downfalls. Somehow, Rachel feels she needs to “save” McKenna and offers her a job as a nanny.
Film critic Cory Everett was right when he wrote the premise of Afternoon Delight is broad, but what I really like about the film is it works because the writing is real and Hahn makes you feel it on screen. It’s honest and engaging even though it is longer on the drama than laugh-out-loud comedy.
*Joey Soloway, who wrote and directed the film, uses details of Rachel’s life that many people in their 30’s or 40’s can relate to. The film is really about companionship, friendship, and fitting in. In an interview, Radnor, who plays Rachel’s husband, says Afternoon Delight is about intimacy and our fear of it. I imagine the fear of intimacy stems from lack of the companionship that leads to it. I found it more interesting that Soloway wrote McKenna as a friend or mentee rather than a love interest. McKenna is young, sexy, free of any real responsibilities, and legitimately happy with her line of work. Rachel can be herself around her without being judged or anxious. When they hang out, Rachel is able to spill her feelings to McKenna in a way she never does with her therapist. This is what she needs.
If you’re going to use friendship as therapy, you’d better have friends who are not only honest, but challenge you to make you better. After sketchy decisions are made by both women that cause drama, Rachel’s husband forces her to think about what she really wants. This is one of my favorite parts of the film. This is how it feels to be an adult sometimes. She doesn’t want out of her marriage, she wants to be out of fake friendships, constant responsibility, and the anxiousness life brings in general. It doesn’t all suck, but let’s face it, much of being an adult for many people is doing a bunch of stuff you don’t want to do, talking to people you didn’t choose to talk to, paying bills you don’t want to pay, and struggling to be yourself through life in general. It’s enough to drive anyone to therapy. Rachel feels like she needs to help McKenna, but she’s the one who needs help and the consequences of her new friendship reveals this.
Again, Afternoon Delight is broad, but true. Rachel is many of us. We don’t all befriend strippers and hire them as nannies, but we need things to get by and take care of ourselves. The best thing to do is look inward, be honest with ourselves, find what it is we need, and surround ourselves with people who fulfill us and make us happy. Rachel, just like too many of us, learns the hard way.
*Joey Soloway is non-binary and gender non-conforming, using they/them pronouns. They were previously named Jill Soloway when they directed this film.
