Movie Reviews
A FAMILY AFFAIR Review
A FAMILY AFFAIR is a bit predictable and promotes the idea that personal happiness is all that matters. However, quality acting and a positive message about the importance of family deliver a fun viewing experience for romcom fans. The movie also rebukes self-centeredness and features a redemptive solution to the differences between Zara and her mother. Efron, Kidman and King deliver appealing performances. However, A FAMILY AFFAIR is marred by too much foul language and a casual attitude about premarital sex. MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution.
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:
Strong Romantic worldview where characters justify their actions because they make them happy and are advised to do what makes them happy, mitigated by some moral, redemptive content including a mother reconciling with her daughter, a positive view of marriage, a positive reference to Heaven, references to love, and, although the daughter is selfish throughout the whole movie, she’s eventually chastised for her self-centeredness by her best friend, which causes her to repent and apologize, plus there’s a positive reference to LGBT relationships;
Foul Language:
28 obscenities (including three “f” words, and many “b” words), 11 instances of profanities using the word God, 3 light profanities, and some obscene jesters of the main character flipping people off;
Violence:
Multiple instances of verbal arguments, but no physical orb actual violence;
Sex:
Two implied fornication scenes (one with upper male nudity and a bare female back) plus one positive reference to LGBT relationships.;
Nudity:
Four instances of upper male nudity, one scene of a woman’s bare back, and a brief shot of a woman in underwear and a bra;
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:
Some social drinking and two instances of drunkenness leading to sex;
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:
No smoking or drug use; and,
Miscellaneous Immorality:
Self-centered and conceited characters rarely consider how their actions impact others, but eventually rebuked, and characters sometimes wonder if they can say something because of the political correctness and cancel culture around them.
The romantic comedy A FAMILY AFFAIR is among Netflix’s biggest summer movies. It stars Zac Efron, Nicole Kidman and rising star Joey King. King plays Zara, an assistant to uber-famous action star Chris Cole. Chris has taken Zara for granted, however. As he does everyone else in his life. Zara took the job as a stepping stone in Hollywood but has realized Chris has no intention of advancing her career.
After a heated fight with Chris over the stupidity of an upcoming role, Zara resigns to continue pursuing her dream of becoming a big-name producer. Zara initially hides this life change from her mother, Brooke, with whom she lives. She eventually confides in her mother that she quit because the assistant position felt like a dead-end job.
The next day, Chris realizes his mistake. He visits Zara’s house to apologize for his oversight and offer her advancement toward production roles. However, when he shows up at Zara’s house, she’s out running errands. Instead, he’s greeted by Brooke, who invites him to wait inside.
After a couple drinks and some light banter, they start making out and eventually bring things to the bedroom, where Zara finds them only minutes later. Appalled by what she sees, and aware of Chris’s playboy reputation, Zara forbids them from seeing each other again. That night, she sleeps over at a friend’s house.
A few days later, Chris contacts Brooke, asking her to dinner to discuss what happened. Brooke eventually accepts the invitation. The dinner begins with talk of staying “just friends,” but they decide to pursue romance instead, turning the dinner into a date. They visit Chris’s favorite places, before getting drunk and sleeping together for a second time.
Chris and Brooke keep their relationship a secret from Zara. However, Zara’s suspicions that they’re still seeing each other are confirmed when she catches them at a charity event together. Zara blows up again about the relationship, especially the fact her mother kept it a secret from her. Chris has had dozens of women before her mother. So, Zara begs her mother to stop seeing Chris, who she believes is just using her mother.
Zara spends multiple nights at a friend’s house before traveling to her grandmother’s home for Christmas. There, she sees her mother for the first time since their last fight. Before Zara arrives, however, her grandmother asks Brooke to invite Chris to Christmas to meet him and get a sense of his character.
The holiday progresses smoothly, and Zara starts to support the relationship. However, she discovers diamond earrings in Chris’s bag while they pack to leave. These earrings are a parting gift Chris has given to all his previous girlfriends. Seeing through his façade, Zara realizes Chris is treating Brooke just like he treated the other women before her. Furious, Zara exposes Chris in front of her mother, who promptly asks him to leave.
After a lonely New Year’s Eve spent by all the characters, Chris meets with Zara and confesses to using Brooke like his past girlfriends. He admits he considered dumping her mother. However, he assures Zara he really loves Brooke. He insists the earrings were intended to be a Christmas gift, not a precursor to dumping her. Convinced of his sincerity, Zara devises a plan to reunite the couple.
A FAMILY AFFAIR is a clichéd romantic comedy that doesn’t innovate within the genre often promotes a Romantic worldview that prioritizes personal happiness above everything else. Despite its predictable plot, the movie imparts lessons on self-centeredness and features a redemptive storyline centered on the relationship between a mother and daughter, adding moral depth to the viewing experience.
Efron, Kidman, and King all deliver quality acting performances. Though the plot is unrealistic and predictable, A FAMILY AFFAIR offers an enjoyable viewing experience for fans of lighthearted romance comedy.
Excessive foul language and two implied fornication scenes are the largest drawback in A FAMILY AFFAIR. The foul language includes three “f” words and some strong profanities. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution.