A Family Affair review

Forgive A Family Affair for its generic title. And for its opening act. For viewers willing to stick with this dramatic romcom, this fling ultimately proves worth giving it a chance.

Joey King (Bullet Train) plays Zara, the longsuffering assistant to self-absorbed actor Chris Cole (Zac Efron, The Iron Claw).

Chris is a nightmare of a boss with erratic demands and the ever-present threat of firing Zara. The only reason Zara endures such shoddy treatment is the hope that Chris will eventually make good on his promise to make her a producer of one of his upcoming films.

That carrot provides enough motivation that Zara finds herself making late night grocery runs and aiding in Chris’ cavalier breakups with his latest fling.

Chris’ diva-like antics finally push Zara to the breaking point and she quits. Realizing too late how much Zara did for him, Chris tries to hire her back. While Zara’s not home, her widowed Pulitzer Prize winning mother, Brooke (Nicole Kidman, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom) is there and keeps him company.

Against all likelihood, Chris and Brooke hit it off. Zara is aghast seeing them together, a reveal that screenwriter Carrie Solomon wisely does not drag out.

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Worse, Brooke and Chris are starting to develop real feelings. That freaks out both Zara and Brooke. They both voice their concerns to their respective confidants. For Brooke, that’s her mother-in-law (Kathy Bates). Zara dishes with her BFF Eugenia (Liza Koshy, Players).

Solomon didn’t make Chris’ transition from entitled movie star to caring romantic partner too smoothly. The whiplash-inducing shift probably would have played better if Solomon didn’t make Chris such a ridiculous actor caricature early on.

Kidman and Efron have enough chemistry to sell Brooke and Chris’ relationship. Some of the romantic dialogue sounds a little too much like a romantic drama screenplay instead of how actual people talk however.

Director Richard LaGravenese (Beautiful Creatures) keeps the melodrama to a minimum. There’s not a lot of wacky rom com moments and the film is better off for it.

LaGravenese eventually settles into an appropriate pace once the relationship between Chris and Brooke begins. Early on there’s too many scenes trying to sell the notion that Chris is a nightmare of a boss.

While Zara’s reaction to the worst-case professional situation is important, it initially comes at the expense of properly establishing the relationship causing her so much grief.

Solomon also struggles to avoid painting Zara like a brat. Her concerns are valid, but she’s incredibly selfish in her interactions with everyone in her circle. Zara acts like this relationship is some punishment inflicted onto her.

Not so coincidentally, some of the best scenes in Family Affair play out with Bates onscreen. She might not be able to save every movie she’s in, but Bates can elevate a rocky film in search of a stabilizing force.

The inevitable break up to make up scene actually didn’t played out in a believable manner. And the big reconnecting sequence was a sweet payoff.

It did feel like a pointless use of a title if Sly and the Family Stone’s 1971 hit wasn’t used at all in the film.

A Family Affair doesn’t immediately connect like some rom coms, but it eventually finds its groove to warrant a watch.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Photo Credit: Netflix