A Family Affair

I am a bit of a sucker for films that don't require much thought. I love romances and I am all for something light-hearted.

There is no chemistry between Kidman and Efron. Their interactions are uncomfortable and unbelieveable. Kidman is a great actress but this was not the right film for her talents.

I didn't mind the concept or the scrips and I could have happily watched this film multiple times if casting had worked better. Chemistry is so vital.

Joey King is good as is Kathy Bates but that is it.

If you want an age difference romance with leads that are credible and naturally pleasing I recommend The Idea of You with Anne Hathaway and Nicolas Galitzine - chemistry that is believable.

I know I shouldn't have high expectations for a romantic comedy movie, but this was so bad. Such a waste of potential with such a promising cast.

The most importnat problem for me in this move is that the chemistry between Zac and Nicole was no existent. In all of their scenes looked like they were forced to do them and they did them without energy. They couldn't convince me that they were in love, they gave as nothing when we talk about emotion and their facial expression. In some scenes Zac had more chemistry with Joey.

The story is not bad at all and it could have been a decent romantic movie but it was wasted due to the lack of chemistry between the leads.

I had great expectations for this. Great cast, Nicole Kidman, Joey King, Zac Efron and the always amazing Kathy Bates.

While on paper the casting is great, but when you watch this weak romcom it's easy to see that Efron and Kidman have been miscast. Either one would probably have worked very well with another actor but together Efron and Kidman are quite frankly, awful, in this. They have zero chemistry and to me looks like they couldn't even fake it. Their faces seem to lack the ability to portray any natural emotive expressions whatsoever. They are 100% not believable as lovers which makes it really impossible to root for their relationship.

Bates is her usual lovely self, and King is excellent, providing the only comic relief here. They completely carry this film.

Avoid.

Nicole Kidman, judging solely by the expensive LA-area home of hers, is successful author Brooke Harwood. Her husband passed away some 11 years earlier and she is living a mostly quiet life with a 24-yr-old daughter who has moved back in while trying to get her movie or TV production career energized.

Her daughter works as an assistant for an often juvenile, demanding, and entitled actor, played by Zac Efron as Chris Cole. Strictly by accident Chris meets Brooke, not even knowing who she is. He is smitten, even though later the two characters say that he is 16 years younger than Brooke. (In real life Kidman is 21 years older than Efron.)

The daughter is played by Joey King as Zara Ford. King is one of the better actresses of her generation and her role here is no exception. In fact, even though Kidman and Efron are the bigger stars, and much of the focus in on their budding relationship, the story is more Zara's story. She knows Chris very well and she desperately wants to convince her mother that he is not good for her. Zara's character arc is to respect her mother and her choices.

The whole movie is more about Zara than anything else.

Also in a very good role is veteran Kathy Bates as the grandma, Leila Ford. She has a special relationship with Zara and is instrumental in helping her face reality.

My wife and I watched it streaming, it is a better movie than we thought it was going to be.

After seeing this advertised on the coming soon section of Netflix and the great cast line up I eagerly watched this on the day of release. While I'm glad I watched it, I would say it fell short of my expectations. The storyline is average and in parts a little messy. Some of the chemistry between characters feels a little too forced tho this could be down to how the script has been written rather than the actors capabilities. There was definitely atleast one scene I didn't feel worked at all and was a poor choice when written for the direction they wanted the storyline to go.

I wouldn't say this movie was absolutely awful, the actors do a great job in their respective roles with Joey King probably giving the best performance of the main leads. The ending was a little predictable and I could see where it was going to end up ahead of time. Not the worst watch, an average rom com at best. For me it wasn't enjoyable or memorable enough to make me want to rewatch in future so this will likely be a one time viewing.