Get the latest gossip
‘A Family Affair’ Review: Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman’s Hollywood-Set Rom-Com Has No Heat
Despite the promising pairing of Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman, Richard LaGravenese’s dull Netflix romantic comedy 'A Family Affair' fizzles.
The summer of 2024 has delivered the goods in that department so far: Consider the sweltering Anne Hathaway-Nicholas Galitzine romance “The Idea Of You,” the disarming, post-Barbenheimer pairing of Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt in “The Fall Guy,” Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist’s scorching triangle in “Challengers,” or “Hit Man” turning Glen Powell and Adria Arjona into eager bedfellows. In fact, their courtship and attraction unfold so ineptly throughout LaGravenese’s contemporary romantic comedy that one can’t help but miss the duo’s previous collaboration, Lee Daniels’ 2012 campfest “The Paperboy,” which packed more steam even in its throwaway moments than “A Family Affair” manages in its key intimate scenes. The production design also leaves a lot to be desired: While Brooke’s idyllic home (the cryptic location of which so doesn’t look like L.A., by the way) is supposed to give off a lived-in Nancy Myers vibe with its fancy kitchen and serenely furnished living spaces, it looks like a showroom at best.
Or read this on Variety
