At Midnight is a 2023 Mexican Romantic Comedy film directed by Jonah Feingold and written by Maria Hinojos and Giovanni M Porta.
Sophie Wilder (Monica Barbaro) is a rising movie star who is starring in a hugely successful superhero franchise called Super Society alongside her boyfriend/co-star Adam (Anders Holm).
But her life is turned upside down when she finds out he's cheating on her. Sophie's slimy agent Margot (Whitney Cummings) and her antsy manager Chris (Casey Thomas Brown) convince her to keep the scandal under wraps until the movie is finished out of fear of the breakup can damage her career and the upcoming movie.
Stressed and depressed Sophie travels to a Mexican hotel to finish shooting the movie, accompanied by her comic relief best friend Rachel (Catherine Cohen). But Sophie's life takes another turn when she meets and falls for Alejandro (Diego Boneta), the junior manager of the hotel. Despite their radically different lives and the difficult circumstances, Sophie and Alejandro start a clandestine relationship and begin to secretly meet... At Midnight.
At Midnight provides examples of:
- Accidental Pervert: When Alejandro is doing a final inspection of Sophie's hotel suite, he notices the bathroom has no towels and rushes to get them. But during the time it took for him to pick up the towels and come back, Sophie had already gone inside the room and had stripped down in the bathroom to take a shower, so he ended up accidentally walking on her naked in the bathroom, leading to a Naked Freak-Out from her.
- Amicable Exes: Alejandro parents still get along rather well, despite being separated for years. Alejandro's mother tells Sophie they never loved each other, but they love their kids enough to find common ground.
- Am I Just a Toy to You?: Both Alejandro and Sophie share the worry that the other sees their relationship as a meaningless temporary fling, and they're both too scared to bring it up to the other. Later in the film, Sophie overhears Alejandro describing her as "just a tourist" to his father, which is what triggers the Second-Act Breakup.
- Anger Born of Worry: When Sophie goes missing for an entire day (due to going on a secret date with Alejandro) Chris is fuming at the mouth upon finding her since he cares for her both as a friend and as a manager, which puts him in the delicate position of either calling the police and making a huge scandal (thus bringing her bad press) or just doing nothing and potentially leaving her in danger.
- As You Know: When Alejandro and Tachi first meet they have a conversation centered around Alejndro's Commitment Issues and womanizing way with tourists, mostly for the sake of informing the audience about Alejandro, since Tachi is a close friend of Alejandro and should already know how he operates.
- Bare Midriffs Are Feminine: The outfits Sophie wears as Firephina tend to leave her midriff bare, which fits with Firephina supposedly being an iconic female character. Sophie herself tends to like wearing midriff-baring outfits throughout the film.
- Bedroom Adultery Scene: Near the start of the movie, Sophie walks into Adam's trailer to find him cheating on her with a makeup artist. He tries to make a lame excuse that he was "In-Character" so it "doesn't count", but she doesn't buy it.
- Best Friend: Sophie's best friend Rachel accompanies her to Mexico City since Sophie is having a hard time after the break-up and needs someone to keep her stable.
- Big-Breast Pride: Rachel brags to Sophie about having "good tits".
- Big "NO!": When Firephina "dies" in Doctor Thunder's arms, he screams a dramatic "Noooo" to the sky.
- Camp Gay: Chris fits the stereotype of the gay manager who's hammy, flamboyant, and antsy.
- Chick Magnet: Adam has tons of fangirls due to being a famous and hunky movie star, with several minor female characters being entranced by him.
- Commitment Issues: Alejandro prefers getting into short flings with tourists that come to Mexico rather than get invested in a relationship. He also has commitment issues with his career, as he's too scared to open his own boutique hote in fear that it may fail. By the end of the movie, he gets over it thanks to Sophie's help.
- Creator Couple: In-Universe Sophie and Adam are a beloved Holywood "it" couple for being being a together both in the "real" world and in the Show Within a Show they star in. But this proves problematic for Sophie when Adam cheats on her, and she's still forced to pretend to be with him in order not to derail the movie or her career.
- De-power: Firephina lost her fire powers in the last Super Society film thanks to the villain breaking the Artifact of Power that powered her. The last movie seems to feature her getting them back. The film uses this as a metaphor for Sophie's journey since she has a breakdown due to Adam cheating at the end of the second film and spends the third film rediscovering herself.
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: The prologue shows the ending of the second Super Society film, where Firephina gets a De-power while in Doctor Thunder's arms as he screams a Big "NO!".
- Domino Mask: In Super Society, both Firephina and Doctor Thunder only wear tiny masks that barely cover up their faces, despite their supposed secret identities. Firephina's is an actual domino mask, while Doctor Thunder's mask resembles a pair of goggles.
- Fake Action Prologue: The film begins with an action scene from the Show Within a Show Super Hero film Super Society. The movie itself is a standard Romantic Comedy set in the real world.
- Fake Relationship: Sophie keeps up the pretense she's still dating Adam after he cheated on her because it could damage the image of Super Society if the public finds out the stars are no longer a In-Universe Creator Couple. This naturally complicates her relationship with Alejandro, which is why they have to keep it a secret and can only meet at midnight.
- Falling-in-Love Montage: Around the mid-way point there's a montage featuring Sophie and Alejandro's midnight dates to show their Secret Relationship developing.
- Fetishes Are Weird: Played for Laughs. When Sophie first meets Alejandro and thinks he's a stalking pervert, he assumes he wants to take pictures of her feet and sell them on the internet. Alejandro is very baffled by the odd accusation, but as a famous actress, she sees it as a serious concern.
- Fire Is Red: Sophie's character Firephina has a red Color Motif thanks to being a fire-themed character.
- Hand-or-Object Underwear: Sophie uses her hands to cover her breasts and hides behind the door when Alejandro walks in on her naked in the bathroom, at least until he hands her a Modesty Towel so she can properly cover herself.
- Grand Romantic Gesture: After the Second-Act Breakup, Alejandro tries to make one last desperate move to apologize to Sophie by infiltrating Super Society's set while dressed up as Doctor Thunder. He meets Rachel on the way, who even lampshades it by asking him if he's "Doing the thing girls want guys to do".
- Horrible Hollywood: Sophie has to pretend to still be in a relationship with Adam after he cheated on her since they were a Hollywood "hit" couple and their breaking up would cause a scandal that would damage Super Society. It obviously takes a toll on her mental health. Rachel and Chris also make several remarks throughout the movie parodying and highlighting how horrible the Hollywood world is.
- Inner Monologue: During Alejandro and Sophie's first date, the audience is suddenly able to hear their inner monologue, which illustrates how nervous they are about it. It's the only scene in the movie where that happens.
- Insecure Love Interest: Despite his womanizing ways, Alejandro feels insecure about his Secret Relationship with Sophie, as deep down he doesn't really believe she'll want anything serious with him after she leaves the hotel.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Despite Adam cheating on Sophie and being a Narcissist and a Jerkass, he gets a Pet the Dog moment at the end of the film when he decides to help Alejandro get his chance to make a Grand Romantic Gesture to Sophie, for apparently no other reason other than he wants her happy.
- Jerkass:
- Adam's every scene shows him to be an obnoxious, sexist, and Narcissist man who thinks the entire world revolves around him and is completely oblivious of his own faults.
- Alejandro's father is present in one scene but quickly establishes himself as an unpleasant and condescending person who looks down on his son and quickly casts doubt on him having any kind of lasting relationship with a famous movie star like Sophie.
- Jump Scare: Bizarrely for a Romantic Comedy, there is a sudden jumpscare scene when Alejandro and Sophie are talking in her hotel room. Suddenly a hand grabs Alejandro's shoulders, who turns around is freaked out to see Doctor Thunder standing behind him menacely. But it turns out it's just his imagination, and it's actually just Adam.
- In Love with Love: Alejandro's friend Tachi is a hopeless romantic who is unhappy with Alejandro having a bunch of meaningless flings with tourists and not caring about developing a real connection with someone. When Alejandro gets into his steamy (but dangerous) affair with Sophie, he's their biggest supporter.
- Mating Dance: Sophie and Alejandro's first date ends with them passionately dancing tango together. In a gender role reversal, she's actually the much better dancer and is the one who aggressively leads him.
- Midnight Snack: Since Sophie often works late, she has a habit of eating really late, which is a problem at the hotel since the kitchen is closed by midnight. This leads to her bonding with Alejandro, as he ends up offering to cook for her when he catches her trying to sneak into the kitchen.
- Mirror Monologue: When Sophie first arrives at the hotel, she gives herself a pep talk while facing the mirror. Notably, her reflection is that of her character Firephina, and they actually talk to each other as if they were their own separate identities.
- Naked First Impression: Alejandro first meets Sophie when he accidentally walks in her naked, something she teases him about throughout the movie.
- Naked Freak-Out: When Alejandro accidentally walks in on a naked Sophia who's about to shower, she'd naturally flush with embarrassment. screaming and covering herself in a hurry, especially since she thinks he's a perverted stalker.
- Narcissist: Adam is an obnoxious, egotistical man who has a very high opinion of himself and acts patronizing to most people since he thinks they're much inferior. When Sophie suggests he's not as great an actor as he thinks he is, he starts to freak out on the spot.
- Official Couple: The film is a Romantic Comedy that focuses on the developing romance between Hollywood star Sophie and humble hotel manager Alejandro.
- Pet the Dog: Adam is an obnoxious and unsympathetic character throughout the whole movie, but at the very end he helps out Alejandro do a Grand Romantic Gesture just because he'd rather Sophie be happy.
- Playing Both Sides: Margot is an unscrupulous Smooth-Talking Talent Agent for both Sophie and Adam, and she plays to both egos during the break-up, faking sympathy while talking to Sophie, but calming down Adam by telling him infidelity isn't that big of a deal for a man in Hollywood.
- Playing with Fire: Sophie's character Firephina can supposedly control fire, which is shown in a couple of the Show Within a Show scenes.
- Plot-Inciting Infidelity: The plot starts with Sophie having a mental breakdown after she caught her boyfriend and co-star Adam cheating on her, derailing her love life and her acting career.
- Publicity Stunt Relationship: Sophie and Adam's fame is highly dependent on them being an In-Universe Creator Couple, so Sophie is scared of making the break-up public in fear of damaging her career in the process, so she has to keep the pretense that she's still dating him.
- Real Men Cook: Alejandro is a great cook, which seems to greatly help him attract women since they all make note of how unusual it is for a man to possess this quality. By contrast, Sophie is completely inept at cooking.
- Really Gets Around: Alejandro frequently sleeps around with the many tourist women who pass through Mexico City, as he enjoys the "sex without commitments" that they provide. He does make a point of not sleeping with the guests of the hotel he manages, since it's against policy.
- Second-Act Breakup: Alejandro and Sophie break up when they visit his family, as his father goads Alejandro until he refers to Sophie as a "tourist" (meaning just one of his meaningless flings), which deeply offends her. The ensuing conversation has them both questioning whether they take the relationship seriously or not. They only make up at the very last scene in the film.
- Secret-Keeper: Rachel is the only one in Sophie's social circle who knows about her Secret Relationship with Alejandro. Even when Sophie "goes missing" (went out on a full-day date with Alejandro) and the film crew starts to freak out, she still keeps it a secret. As she tells Sophie: "I care way more about your heart than any of this Hollywood stuff".
- Secret Relationship: Sophie is stuck in a fake Publicity Stunt Relationship with her ex Adam, so her relationship with Alejandro at the hotel must be a secret so her staff or her fans won't freak out. Alejandro also needs to keep the fact he's involved with her a secret since she's a hotel guest, and as a manager, he's explicitly prohibited from getting romantically involved with them.
- Sex Goddess: When listing Sophie's qualities to Alejandro, her being "good in bed" is one of them. Alejandro confirms that is true, but seems somewhat disturbed by the fact that Rachel knows it.
- Sexy Discretion Shot: Alejandro and Sophie are making out at the secluded beach and the scene Fades to Black. When we next see them in the morning after, they're cuddling in the cabana.
- Sexy Shirt Switch: The unnamed tourist woman Alejandro sleeps with at the start of the film is only wearing his shirt when she wakes up the morning after their fling. She notably leaves his house and picks up an Uber while still only wearing that.
- Shipper on Deck: Taichi and Rachel's characters mostly exist so they can be supportive of the Official Couple, with Taichi encouraging Alejandro while Rachel encourages Sophie.
- Shoulders-Up Nudity: When Sophie undresses to take a shower and gets walked in by Alejandro, the camera usually stays above her shoulders, unless she has Scenery Censor or Hand-or-Object Underwear covering her naughty bits.
- Shout-Out:
- Sophie describes a nightmare where everything is in black-and-white until Adam stabs her and her blood is red, and Rachel waves it off saying "We get it you watched Schindler's List", referring to the film's famous use of Splash of Color.
- When talking about Super Society, Sophie mentions that they're "not cinema according to Scorsese", which is a reference to a real-life quote by Martin Scorsese claiming Super Hero movies weren't cinema.
- During the credits, Chris tells Tachi about how he just convinced Jennifer Coolidge into playing Ms. Potato Head in a "dark origin story".
- Shower of Awkward: Alejandro is bringing towels to Sophie's hotel room, and he's so distracted that he fails to notice the shower already running and comes inside the bathroom just as she's finished undressing, causing their first meeting to be an awkward Naked First Impression.
- Show Within a Show: Super Society is the Super Hero movie that Sophie and Adam star in. They were filming the third sequel in Mexico when Sophie found out he was cheating on her, which threw a wrench in things. The plot follows Sophie's efforts to shoot the last film while pretending to be in a relationship with Adam and getting into a Secret Relationship with Alejandro.
- "Shut Up" Kiss: When Alejandro first asks Sophie if she and Adam are still dating, her only answer is to interrupt him by pulling him into a kiss.
- Slap-Slap-Kiss: During one of Firephina and Doctor Thunder's romantic scenes in Super Society, Sophie can't bring herself to passionately kiss Adam after their break-up, so the scene is changed for her punching him and then kissing him, something she manages to do just fine.
- Smooth-Talking Talent Agent: Margot is the smooth-talking agent of both Sophie and Adam, and she's clearly looking out for herself above all else. She convinces Sophie to not reveal Adam's infidelity more out of concern of it damaging Adam's career than Sophie's. Sophie later figures it out and fires her.
- Spandex, Latex, or Leather: The Super Hero outfits for the Super Society movies are colorful spandex clothing, fitting their Camp nature.
- Stay in the Kitchen: Adam is sexist and doesn't think much of women, clearly wanting Sophie to remain submissive to him. He doesn't allow her to speak in interviews, doesn't want her taking acting gigs without his permission, and even describes her character of Firephina as being his "sidekick" rather than a co-star and equal partner.
- Super Doc: Adam's Super Hero character in Super Society is called "Doctor Thunder".
- Title Drop: When Alejandro asks the time for his first "date" with Sophie she replies "At Midnight" with extra emphasis.
- Toplessness from the Back: When Sophie is giving herself a pep talk in front of the bathroom's mirror, she is completely naked, but the camera is positioned behind her, so only her bare back and Sideboob are visible to the audience. Her reflection in the mirror is fully dressed as Firephina.
- Uptown Girl: The film's Official Couple is the rich and famous starlet Sophie and the struggling working-class Alejandro. When Alejandro introduces Sophie to his family, his father explicitly points out that the difference in social class between them means the relationship could never work.
- Vomit Discretion Shot: After Sophie catches Adam cheating on her, she gets so sick that vomits, walking out of the camera's view behind a trailer in order to do so.
