Movie Review: A Family Affair (2024)

Genre: Romantic Comedy  

Director: Richard LaGravenese  

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, Joey King, Kathy Bates  
Running Time: 114 minutes  

Synopsis: In Los Angeles, Zara (Joey King) is the assistant to action movie star Chris Cole (Zac Efron), and still lives with her widowed mother Brooke (Nicole Kidman), a published writer. Zara has ambitions to become a producer, and quits her job when she realizes Chris is a terrible boss. A passionate romance ignites between Chris and Brooke, and he hires Zara back as an associate producer. With Brooke starting to fall in love, Zara knows her boss is not kind to women.

What Works Well: Joey King and Kathy Bates (as Brooke's mother-in-law) demonstrate some acting spirit.

What Does Not Work As Well: Shallow and inconsistent characters, a contrived romance, flat writing, languid pacing, sappy music, and very few laughs combine into an instantly forgettable experience. The entire premise revolves around Zara, Chris, and Brooke pairing off into scenes of arguing followed by scenes of reconciling, set on an endless repeat loop. Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron generally embarrass themselves, while director Richard LaGravenese prolongs the agony by somehow pushing the skimpy material towards the two hour mark.

Conclusion: A calamity affair. 



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