Another affair between a mother and star, but with a mopey and angry daughter dragging things down.
Last month on Amazon Prime Video, we had the smart and sexy romance “The Idea of You,” which was starred Anne Hathaway as a mother who has an affair with Nicholas Galitzine as a pop star much younger than her. And this month on Netflix, we have the well-meaning, but exhausting “A Family Affair,” which also has a mother and celebrity romance, but is overshadowed by the negativity of the mother’s daughter.
Let me clarify.
Zac Efron plays Chris Cole, the self-absorbed star of the ever popular movie franchise “Icarus Rush,” and no, he doesn’t fly too close to the sun, but he does fly too close to pushing his mistreated assistant Zara Ford (Joey King) away. She suggests that her lesbian friend Stella (Sherry Cola) rewrite the script on the next sequel, which is supposed to get a Christmas theme like “Die Hard” meets “Miracle on 34th Street” meets “Speed.” I thought we already got one of those with “Violent Night” two Christmases ago. But anyway, he still suggests she finds another writer.
The minute she quits or he fires her (whatever comes first), he pops by her home where her Australian writer mother Brooke (Nicole Kidman) lives. And like Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine in “The Idea of You,” they hit it off really good. But this time, the daughter gets pissed off to the point of her shouting: “You’re not Jack and Rose!.”
Despite this, Brooke agrees to continue their secret romance on the condition that he doesn’t break her heart and not lie to her about his love for her.
He rehires Zara, but as an associate producer. But she also becomes suspicious that her mother is continuing her affair. So, she and her other friend Eugenie (Liza Koshy) have to surprise them. And of course, when Zara confronts Brooke, conflicts emerge about their chemistry, and how the mother compares Chris to her deceased father. The young woman even threatens to move out if they don’t call it off, while her mother says: “Then maybe you shouldn’t have moved in.”
Kathy Bates co-stars as Zara’s grandmother and Brooke’s mother-in-law Leila, who tries to be the voice of reasoning for both of them, not just because of the affair, but because of how Brooke needs to regain her voice in writing books again.
“A Family Affair” is the first screenplay for Carrie Solomon, but it’s not off to a good start. And it’s the first movie director Richard LaGravenese has made in literally a decade since “The Last Five Years.” I think he can do better than succumb to her typical and sometimes mean-spirited script.
The chemistry between Efron and Kidman has commitment, because they’re two appealing actors who look great and can represent their inner charms. And I like how Bates tries to make sure everyone can find their happiness. But it all comes crashing down with the Hollywood cliches, which sometimes feels like a corny commercial, and how King has to be so negative almost all the time.
I think she’s a fine young actress (and I suggest you see her in “Ramona and Beezus,” “The Conjuring,” “The Princess,” and “Bullet Train”), but she becomes aggravating with her character’s behavior. She has to be so unhappy with her boss, that when his affair with her mother begins, she has to be the one who struggles to convince her mother that there’s nothing redeemable about him, when, in actuality, there is.
I suggest you see “The Idea of You,” which is still on Amazon, then waste your time on Netflix with “A Family Affair.”
Streaming on Netflix