Strip teasing----Juno Temple as a stripper who gets invited into the home of a well intentioned woman (Kathryn Hahn) in Afternoon Delight
Afternoon Delight introduces a side of actress Kathryn Hahn no one has ever seen before. Hahn is generally one of those people who plays a fairly large supporting role but never goes beyond that. Here...she gets the opportunity to shine in his first leading role and shine she does. However, the film is lacking in many aspects. That's not to say it's a terrible film. It's just that for her first starring role...Hahn gives a great performance but the film isn't there to back her up.
In the film...Hahn plays Rachel...a well meaning wife and mother whose husband, Jeff (Josh Radnor) doesn't seem to be excited by their marriage anymore. She doesn't, either but she's at least working to improve it. Rachel meets McKenna (Juno Temple)...a seemingly innocent stripper at a gentleman's club. When Rachel runs into her on the street again....she invites McKenna to come live with her and Jeff.
While Hahn proves herself as a force to be reckoned with....the whole films rings false a lot of the time. Radnor is also quite good but I never bought that Rachel and Jeff would have ever given each other the time of day much less be married and have a kid. And yes...I know that the plot involves their marriage being on the rocks but still....it's so unbelievable that these two people would EVER fall for each other. Also..the relationship between Rachel and her pretend friends feels forced and pandering. The only relationship I bought was that of Rachel and McKenna but that even fell completely apart in the third act.
The film also tries to force sentimentality where it's not needed. A good example is a scene in which Rachel is talking to her therapist (Jane Lynch) who spews into rants that have nothing to do with what Rachel was saying. Eventually...Rachel confronts her and the therapist is a bit insulted. Later....well, you know where this is going. There are multiple scenes such as that one that ring completely false. First time writer-director Jill Soloway obviously knows what she's doing and intended to do something very specific. It's just that she didn't know how to construct it properly.
It's not that Afternoon Delight is terrible. In fact...I kind of enjoyed it. I don't expect realism in all of the films I go and see. I don't want to walk out of Lethal Weapon and say "what an incredibly realistic film that was." However, this film should have been more realistic and less gooey. Hahn is the main reason to see this film. If it weren't for her...I may be telling you to avoid it like the plague.
(2 and 1/2 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for strong sometimes graphic sexual content, language and some drug use)
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