“I’m about to turn 33, and I still don’t feel like an adult. If I go anywhere with my mom, I’ll ask: ‘Will there be other kids there, too?’ Maybe that will change? Probably not,” says Delaney Buffett, who is on the eve of releasing her directorial debut, Adult Best Friends, to VOD audiences everywhere.
The film, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last year, follows childhood best friends Katie (Katie Corwin) and Delaney (Buffett) as the former prepares to get married and worries about breaking the news to her co-dependent best friend. To soften the blow, they embark on a girls' trip in Florida where they come across fellow castmates Zachary Quinto, Cazzie David, and Alexander Hodge.
The Florida setting is no coincidence, as the writer-director grew up in the Sunshine State alongside real life best friend Corwin, who co-penned the screenplay. "Katie and I have been writing partners for almost 10 years and best friends for 23," says Buffett. "We’ve written several scripts but, as is the nature of this business, there were a lot of false starts. A few years ago, we decided to write something small and personal that we could try and make independently. Having gone through many milestones together, we wanted to explore the idea of how friendships evolve from childhood to adulthood."
The result was Adult Best Friends, a searing comedy about the tricky transition to grown-up independence. For Buffett, daughter of the late musician Jimmy Buffett, it comes after years spent directing and producing shorts, while Corwin found parts acting in TV and films including Billionaire Boys Club, Elvis & Nixon, and City of Angels.
"In the lines we wrote for this fictional story, we were able to express our appreciation for each other in a way we hadn’t done in our real lives," Buffett reveals of working alongside Corwin during the filmmaking process. "The most exciting part was walking onto set and seeing the actors bring our words to life. I would light up as I watched them add layers to their characters we didn’t know existed."
Today, Adult Best Friends hits video on demand and it will soon be coming to Max, promising to spark revelations across the country about the state of viewers' own deeply enmeshed adult friendships, or lack thereof. To help soften that news, Buffett shared her personal guidelines for making, or keeping, your own adult best friends—come what may.
Delaney Buffett’s Top 10 Rules For Adult Best Friendships:
Let your friends know when they upset you. Letting it stew is a recipe for disaster.
Manage your expectations. The older we get, the more life gets in our way.
Don’t insert yourself in your friends’ life choices (unless they are in physical danger or join a pyramid scheme).
Be thoughtful with your honesty. People don’t need to hear everything.
Don’t be too proud to initiate a plan. Some people are not good about reaching out regularly, but that doesn’t mean they don’t want to see you.
Time is precious. Quality over quantity.
After a venting session, make sure it is clear what should stay between you two and what can be brought up in a larger group.
Just like in a romantic relationship, if a friend goes, let them. The friends who are meant to be in our lives will reappear.
Don’t spend time with friends that make you feel bad about yourself. Even if you have history, it doesn’t mean you’re obligated to see them. We’re not in middle school anymore (thank god).
And an oldie BUT a goodie: treat people the way you’d like to be treated.
