CinemaBlind’s Review – 65%
If you want an incredibly charming and immensely talented cast in a run-of-the-mill rom-com, then Netflix’s latest film, A Family Affair, is for you. By describing it as a run-of-the-mill rom-com, I don’t want to say that the film is not entertaining as I did have some decent laughs, and Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman were great in their respective roles, but I felt zero emotional connection to everyone in the film.
Directed by Richard LaGravenese from a screenplay by Carrie Solomon, A Family Affair follows the story of Zara, a young woman who works as an assistant for a self-obsessed film star, Chris Cole, who she hates. If that’s not enough, she finds out that her boss and mother are secretly dating each other, which sends her up the wall.
The biggest flaw I noticed in the film was that our main character, Zara (Joey King), had no relatable qualities, and that’s why her character felt more like an annoyance instead of our way into this world, which she was supposed to be. It’s not even King’s fault because I felt that she had a pretty fun chemistry with Efron’s character, but her character arc really didn’t work for me, as not even once I felt any kind of connection to her character.
The film’s best part is Efron’s diva-like movie star, Chris Cole, who is a fun and manic character. It seemed like Efron had a lot of fun playing Chris because he brought a certain charm to the character, who would otherwise be instantly hatable. Kidman was also great; her character grounded all the wild characters around her. While Kathy Bates was in the film, she didn’t have much to do besides giving sage and sometimes giving a bit of naughty advice.
A Family Affair is no different than any other rom-com you might find on Netflix, but the cast certainly added something to the film that will make this film a hit, at least on Netflix. But I don’t know why I feel that if this movie were released in theaters, it would also do well there despite some of its horrible dialogues and not-so-great supporting characters.
In conclusion, I would describe A Family Affair as passable entertainment, and while I won’t recommend this film over other rom-coms like Palm Springs or even Anyone But You, I also think that if you watch it, you won’t regret wasting your time, and that’s only because of the chemistry between the cast.