On the charms-of-the-cast front, Netflix’s A Family Affair boasts an ensemble cast featuring Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, and Joey King. With the big names, the film falters right off as a romantic comedy. Directed by Richard LaGravenese and written by Carrie Solomon, this might have been a renewal of the genre. It just falls a little short.
Overview of the Plot:
This film centers on Chris Cole, a movie star famous but very self-absorbed, who falls in love with Brooke Harwood, his assistant Zara’s mother. It has an age-gap romance kind of premise, sprinkled with a touch of movie glamour and personal drama. But on the whole, A Family Affair is confused, veering between satire and sincerity, never quite knowing which it wants to be.
The Characters and the Performances
The characters are archetypal embodiments of very expected rom-com genre tropes. Chris Cole is the celebrity totally out of touch, which Efron plays with charm but overstatement. Kidman’s Brooke is the classic widow struggling to find herself and love again. There is King’s Zara playing the millennial caught between family obligations versus the pull of professional satisfaction. Even with this good cast, it feels their performances are fighting against the uneven script of the film.
The chemistry shared by Efron and Kidman is the supposed heart of the film, but it feels completely forced, devoid of emotional depth to believe their romance. This is further exacerbated by the tonal inconsistencies of the movie. Sometimes, it went borderline satirical, with situations and lines that are over-the-top, and other times, it tries an earnest emotional connection that rings incredibly false. This inconsistency undermines the film’s ability to connect with its audience.
Tonal Shifts and Script Problems
The two major criticisms against A Family Affair are its tonal shifts. There will be times when it is a spoof of romantic comedies, yet it tries to have some actual poignant moments and comes off as pretentious. This tone shift can be very jarring, especially when dealing with scenes that are supposed to be hot and funny simultaneously. For example, where an innocently sweet, even engrossing, romantic encounter between Chris and Brooke becomes a jumbled mess of humor and compulsory drama. It is a hallmark of a script that can’t strike a balance among its various elements.
Besides, there are loads of plot issues. Chris’s celebrity status works as a tool for humor but is very haphazard. For example, he is considered to be so famous that he cannot do simple day-to-day things, yet casually hangs out in very ordinary situations that undermine that very set-up of the film. These flaws in the plot of the film take from the credibility and interest level of it.
The Heart of the Film
For all its vast faults, there’s a fair deal of real feeling in A Family Affair: the mother-daughter story that binds Zara and Brooke. There are moments with King and Kidman—and, on occasion, Kathy Bates’ Leila Ford—that flicker with truth and even some feeling. It makes one wonder if it might have been more consistently rewarding if the movie was more centered on this rather than this overfamiliar romantic arc.
The visuals and direction come off as unremarkable. Helmed by LaGravenese, known for his brilliant work on The Last Five Years, A Family Affair lacked the flourish that might have saved it from such a pedestrian look. The cinematography of the film is flat and uninteresting, complementary to making it feel like some forgettable Netflix film instead of a remarkable piece of cinema.
Conclusion
Ultimately, A Family Affair is a missed opportunity to hit the refresh button on the romantic comedy genre. Its cast is not unlikable, and neither is its premise something to sneeze at, so this could have been a real chance at blowing life into an age-gap romance. As things stand, it’s just another case study in that genre’s current failing to quite define itself. Tonal inconsistencies, a clichéd plot, and a lack of chemistry between the leads bring what could have been a funny movie down to watchable but ultimately forgettable.
While A Family Affair can produce some laughs and a couple of fine performances, its premise is unlikely to help it stand out in the overcrowded romantic comedy genre. For viewers who go into a rom-com with a desire for something truly memorable, it will perhaps leave them wistfully wishing for the enchantment of classics that nailed the balance between its heart and humor.
