Recall The Paperboy (2012)? Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron sizzled on screen in a seductive, sweaty romance that boosted air conditioner sales globally in the cult film directed by Lee Daniels. A Family Affair shows their passionate reunion 12 years later, but it’s much less intense. Kidman and Efron still have a lot of connection, as anyone with eyes will confirm, and they are just as hot now as they were then. That’s actually one of the few explanations for why this most recent romantic comedy from filmmaker Richard LaGravenese is recommended.
Unfortunately, A Family Affair is more than just a romantic comedy. In addition, it’s a coming-of-age tale for Chris (Efron), her mother Brooke (Kidman), and Zara (Zoey King). It’s also a slapstick himbo sex comedy. Chris claims that his first date with Brooke was like “nine dates in one,” and Carrie Solomon’s first screenplay is similarly densely packed, meaning that none of these particular concepts are really addressed. It’s messier than the real family it depicts when you add in some clumsy criticism of Hollywood and celebrities. It is particularly naive to criticise the formulaic Hollywood screenplay for a movie like this.
Still, everything is not lost. King’s charm is just right to carry us through a frequently unlikeable character journey, while Kidman and Kathy Bates’ (Brookes’ mother-in-law) affection is tender and genuine. They had a really amazing scene together that seems like it belongs in a different film. It’s unfortunate that the finished product loses the lively, desperately needed energy of the original title, “Motherfucker,” especially in the comedy stakes. Still, it’s difficult to see the movie’s original title succeeding in situations like these. When Chris’s blockbuster “Die Hard meets Miracle on 34th Street” sounds more entertaining than the movie you’re actually seeing—or when his terrifying tale of invisible zombies who transform people into kelp—you know something is wrong.
Nothing, not even Nicole Kidman playing off Kathy Bates or Zac Efron singing Cher’s Believe, can keep what should have been an instant hit free of corny reflections and cliches.