A Family Affair (2024)
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A personal assistant's life becomes complicated when her mother begins a secret romance with her boss.
The story
Zara, a 24-year-old personal assistant to the self-absorbed Hollywood actor Chris Cole, feels under-appreciated by her demanding boss. After quitting her job following a dispute over a script, Zara returns home only to find Chris there. Instead of a job offer, Chris finds Zara's widowed mother, Brooke, a best-selling author. The two unexpectedly hit it off and begin a relationship. However, the situation becomes incredibly awkward when Zara returns home to discover her mother and her boss together, leading to a complicated dynamic as they navigate their new connection.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Zara, a 24-year-old personal assistant to self-absorbed Hollywood actor Chris Cole, quits her job after he changes the gate code on her. Chris later visits her home to offer her a promotion but instead meets her widowed mother, Brooke, a best-selling author. The two hit it off and begin a relationship, which Zara discovers after walking in on them. Chris promises it won't happen again, and Zara returns to work as an associate producer. The tension rises when Zara discovers Chris hired Brooke as his new writer. After a confrontation at a gala, the family travels to Brooke's mother-in-law Leila's house for Christmas. During the trip, Zara overhears Brooke admit she had relationship problems with Zara's late father. Zara also notices diamond earrings in Chris's bag, which she realizes he buys for every woman he breaks up with. After Zara confronts them about his behavior, Brooke asks Chris to leave. However, after Chris expresses his doubts and Zara realizes her own mistakes, she orchestrates a supermarket encounter to apologize to both. The film ends with Chris and Brooke reconciling and Zara being promoted to producer.
- First release year
- 2024
- Runtime (minutes)
- 114
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Richard LaGravenese
- Writers
- Carrie Solomon · writer
- Cast and characters
- Nicole Kidman · Brooke; Zac Efron · Chris Cole; Joey King · Zara; Kathy Bates · Leila
- Genres
- romantic comedy
- Themes
- mother-daughter relationships; career ambition; romance
- Tone and mood
- romantic; comedic; mixed
- Premise and plot tags
- romantic comedy; actor life; family drama
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for the chemistry between the leads and criticism regarding the script and pacing. Despite this, it was a top performer on Netflix, debuting as the #1 original on its release weekend.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 43 · scale: 100 · review count: 23
- Production trivia
- The film's working script title was 'Motherfucker', which was 'beeped out' in promotion.; Joey King's character was inspired by Pamela Abdy, a friend of director Richard LaGravenese.; The film was originally scheduled for release on November 17, 2023, but was postponed due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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