'Afternoon Delight' is hilarious,
but features lots of sex
Drama.
1 hour, 42 minutes.
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| Movie
still credit: 72 Productions |
Juno
Temple and Kathryn Hahn in 72 Productions' "Afternoon
Delight" - 2012
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“Afternoon Delight”
was the third and final film that I saw at the 2013 Sundance Film
Festival. The movie made its world premiere at the Eccles Theatre
in Park City, Utah on Monday, Jan. 21. It won the U.S. Drama Directing
Award at the film festival. I got to see it at one of the special
‘Best of Fest’ screenings on Monday, Jan. 28 at the
Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center in Salt Lake City.
Kathryn Hahn (“Girls”)
stars as Rachel, a lost L.A. housewife, who puts her hipster life
in jeopardy after she tries to rescue a stripper named McKenna
(played by Juno Temple). Josh Radnor (“How I Met Your Mother”)
stars as Jeff, Rachel’s husband. Also starring in the film
are Jane Lynch, Michaela Watkins, John Kapelos, Annie Mumolo and
Jessica St. Clair.
Rachel and Jeff are
an unhappily married couple with two kids and a big house in southern
California. Rachel was having trouble getting excited about making
love. They haven’t had sex in six months. She decided to
go see her therapist, Lenore (played by Jane Lynch of “Glee”
fame). Lenore would always begin her statements by saying “Can
I share something?” and then describes about what she does
with her wife, Portia. Rachel keeps seeing her several times throughout
the film.
Meanwhile, Rachel thought
it would be a good idea to take Jeff to a strip club to reignite
their love. He paid for her to get a lap dance and that is when
she met McKenna. Rachel thought McKenna
looked kind of young so she asked what her age was. McKenna replied,
16 and described herself as a “sex worker.”
The next day, Rachel
went to get some coffee at a famous L.A. food truck. Once again,
she sees McKenna standing outside the strip club. Rachel begins
to feel sorry for her so she invites McKenna to live with Jeff
and her kids. Later, Rachel decided to have McKenna take care
of her children so she could spend more time with Jeff in the
bedroom. Rachel also introduced McKenna to some of the other parents
at her kids’ school.
Further in the movie,
McKenna invited Rachel to watch her have sex with one of her popular
clients on a Tuesday. Rachel agreed, but then got very grossed
out.
Later on, we see Jeff
playing cards with some of his guy friends while Rachel is out
having a ladies night. McKenna drops in unexpectedly on the guys
and you’ll have to see the film to find out how it ends.
Will McKenna ever turn her life around? That is the question you’ll
know the answer to when it’s over.
“Afternoon Delight”
was Jill Soloway’s directing debut for a feature film. She
previously worked as a producer for the 2011 series “How
to Make It In America” and the 2010 series “United
States of Tara.” Filming took place in and around the Los
Angeles area. I recognized several shots of downtown L.A. including
the U.S. Bank Tower. It is not yet rated because the MPAA hasn't
had a chance to give it one.
I was interested in
this film when I saw that Josh Radnor and Jane Lynch were part
of the cast, even in their supporting roles. Overall, I liked
“Afternoon Delight” because there was lots of action
from start to finish. There were many sex scenes so it’s
definitely not a movie you want to see with the kids. I imagine
it would get an “R” rating when it makes it into select
theaters and also for its DVD release.
OVERALL GRADE:
A
For more information
about "Afternoon Delight," visit the official website
at www.afternoondelightfilm.com
and the official Facebook
page.
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| Movie
poster credit: 72 Productions |
"Afternoon
Delight" movie poster
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| PHOTO
BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com |
My
ticket to see "Afternoon Delight," which won the U.S.
Dramatic Directing Award.
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| PHOTO
BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com |
Fans waiting to get inside the theater...
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| PHOTO
BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com |
A
Sundance Film Festival representative welcomed everyone.
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