Chosen Family

This movie was so bad, it literally forced me to make an IMBD account just to leave my first review. Every aspect of this movie is horrible. The directing and producing of this movie was painful to watch. It seemed extremely low budget. There was no plot or even overarching theme. Just a weird excuse of a movie. Do not waste your time. Ive never seen a movie with no plot. There was just random stuff thrown together. Was it a romcom? A comedy? A drama? Trauma dump? Honestly I have no clue and neither did the characters. Also the acting was horrendous, which is weird because many of the actors have been apart of larger films but all acting skills went out the window with this movie.

In charmless cheap drama "Chosen Family" Heather Graham's an upper-class US East coast community's yoga teacher with awful parents, addict sister Julia Stiles (the best aspect of this tripe) who blames her for her woes, and dire taste in men til she meets John Brotherton who seems perfect (to her & her pals anyway - to any ordinary person he'd surely seem a smug dweeb) though he too has issues - with obnoxious 7yr old daughter Ella Grace Helton. It is cringe-worthily abysmal. Graham screwed up SO badly in her second film as writer / director (after 2018's "Half Magic"). For a WAY better movie with a similar theme try "I'll Be Right There", cos this turd stinks.

This movie trailer gives the impression of a romcom, but between the mediocre acting, the used up plot, and the fact that there is no rom or com it was just disappointing. The basic storyline is downtrodden girl who is emotionally abused by her family, and who is a yes girl. She meets a "the man of her dreams" but he has a daughter that he caters to, unrealistically so, I really wish the script writer had stuck with just one storyline and not made this characters life so tragic. She remains upbeat the whole time and you root for her to just loose it on the family, and cut them out of her life. The end also just kind of leaves you hanging. In the end it was a waste of time and money.

I love Julia Stiles in most of her movies but this was not her best role. This whole movie was not impressive. The actors did not contribute much to a good story line and the ending was so disappointing. I'm just glad I didn't watch this in theatre and pay more than I did. They did not put much effort into building the love story which is what the movie seemed to be about. The beginning was a lot of build up of the main character's love life and how disastrous it has been, which would make you think the ending would end with a love story that ended in a happy ending but instead it ends Completely opposite and random. It was overall disappointing and wouldn't recommend.

Set against the charming backdrop of East Greenwich, Rhode Island, Chosen Family delivers a heartwarming blend of romance, comedy, and drama. Heather Graham stars as Ann, a yoga teacher struggling to balance the chaos of her demanding biological family with her search for romantic fulfillment. Ann's well-intentioned nature often leads her to try and fix everyone's problems, particularly those of her sister Clio (Julia Stiles), who is dealing with addiction.

Ann finds support in her close friends, who encourage her to pursue a relationship with Steve, a divorced father. While Ann is immediately drawn to Steve and his daughter, Lily, she soon finds herself navigating the unexpected challenges of winning over a jealous and competitive seven-year-old.

Chosen Family explores the complexities of family dynamics, both those we're born into and those we create. The film highlights the importance of supportive friendships and the challenges of finding love and building a blended family. While it embraces familiar romantic comedy tropes, it's grounded in relatable situations and genuine emotional struggles. This film is recommended for those who enjoy character-driven stories that celebrate the power of friendship and the possibility of finding love amidst life's messy realities. It's a feel-good movie with a good balance of humor and heart.