A Family Affair: A Tired Age-Gap Romp
The latest romantic comedy to hit the screens, A Family Affair, promises much but delivers little. The film, starring Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman, is a tired, uninspired take on the age-gap romance genre.
A still from A Family Affair
The plot revolves around Chris Cole (Zac Efron), a self-absorbed movie star who stumbles into the life of Brooke Harwood (Nicole Kidman), a widowed fashion writer living in a picturesque waterside mansion. The two are thrust together in a series of contrived and painfully unfunny situations that are meant to pass for a forbidden romance.
The ensuing romance between Chris and Brooke feels inorganic, wooden, and devoid of any genuine chemistry, relying instead on the novelty of the star-pairing to carry the story.
The film’s premise reeks of desperation, and the romance between Chris and Brooke feels like an awkward blind date gone wrong. The writing substitutes wit with slapstick, and the supposed horror and disgust it provokes in Zara (Joey King) are played for non-existent laughs.
Zac Efron in A Family Affair
Efron’s performance meanders from smug self-satisfaction to bewildered incompetence, never finding a middle ground that might make his character remotely relatable. Kidman, on the other hand, is woefully miscast as Brooke, and her sudden inexplicable attraction to this man-child is about as believable as a tabloid headline.
The film’s pacing is erratic, with unresolved sexual tension evaporating long before it should, leaving the plot lurching from one predictable scenario to the next. Supporting characters, played by the likes of Liza Koshy and Sherry Cola, are reduced to mere accessories.
Nicole Kidman in A Family Affair
In the end, the only laugh A Family Affair manages to muster is a desperate “Your Mom” joke at its own expense. The real punchline? The film’s existence feels like it hinges solely on this last-ditch attempt at humor — or perhaps the biggest joke is that it was made at all.
A Family Affair: A tired age-gap romp
