"A Family Affair" is now streaming on Netflix and features Zac Efron and Joey King as the main characters. This comedy has a romantic element to it. King plays Zara, while Efron plays Chris Cole. Their friendship throughout the movie adds humor to the film.
Synopsis
This movie is about Zara, an aspiring producer and assistant for Chris Cole. Cole is an actor in superhero action films. He is self-absorbed and ungrateful for Zara. A spicy romance forms between Zara's boss and her mother Brooke (played by Nicole Kidman). Despite their 16-year age gap, these two are inseparable and in love, which creates family drama because of Zara.
Highs
The friendship that develops between Chris and Zara despite their love-hate connection is one of the movie's highlights. This gives the film humor, which is essential for a romantic comedy. King's stunt in the film, in which she chokes on a grape before running into a door and falling, is another highlight. This added humor to the movie and demonstrated her dedication as an actress. Her character's desire to become a producer is also admirable as she perseveres through hardships. She doesn't let anything in her personal life interfere with her dream.
The relationship between Chris and Brooke is another highlight, they hit it off immediately. The movie is made by their ability to withstand each other's age difference. Zac Efron did a fantastic job acting and developing his character throughout the film. In his relationship with Brooke, the self-absorbed movie star he played later revealed his genuine nature.
Another highlight was Nicole Kidman's acting as a mother in love with a young movie star. Her character shows the true struggle of her relationship with her daughter. How her daughter's disapproval of the man she was seeing made it harder for her to pursue her only desire, which was happiness, gives the whole movie an intense element. The emotional hardships Kidman's character had on her way to a happy ending were captured in her acting.
Lows
The plot of this movie had its poor points as it was a little unclear at times. The entire age-difference romance was unexpected, which gave the movie an uncomfortable vibe. It's entirely personal preference, and you won't find an older woman and younger man in an age-gap romance in most movies. Although they had fantastic chemistry in the movie, there seemed to be a gap in the story.
The fact that nothing is known about Zara's father's life and death is another low point. A flashback or other emotional scene illustrating how difficult it was for Zara and her mother ought to have been included. This may have improved the film and clarified Zara's reasons for being hard on her mother.
While there aren't many low points, the movie had a sense of incompleteness. The whole movie lacked something, and it should have included more humorous scenes in place of serious ones.
Verdict
If you appreciate romances between people of an age gap, it is worth the watch. It illustrates the challenges that arise in a mother-daughter relationship when the mother begins dating again.
Rating: 6 out of 10.
Mariam Fakhreddine is a film and theater reviewer for The Eastern Echo. She has worked as a news and features reporter for The Echo for two years.
