Entertaining, flawed entertainment captures what it means to be a Netflix movie

Watch out A family affair really got me thinking about what it means to be a Netflix movie. The streaming giant has released many daring projects, including some of my favorite films of recent years, but these don’t define the brand. They demand all of our attention and even benefit from the many rewatches that streaming allows. A Netflix movie, as culturally understood, is much less demanding. It accepts, or perhaps embraces, that the audience’s eyes won’t always be on the screen.

As a critic, it is my job to watch everything I am asked to watch with undivided attention, and films of this kind do not always survive that stress test. But we should expect that of them anyway – accepting that not all entertainment aims to be art does not mean that sloppiness can be tolerated. This brings me to A family affair, that you can just listen to without ever feeling lost. It creaks and groans under the weight of watchful eyes. But it doesn’t collapse. It remains easy and fun, whether you experience it actively or passively.

A family affair works best when it inspires laughter

And when Zac Efron and Joey King appear together on screen

That’s largely because the comedic part of the premise is executed correctly, at least in my experience. Zara (Joey King) works as a personal assistant to movie star Chris Cole (Zac Efron), a notoriously demanding job in the ego-driven ecosystem of Hollywood. She’s an aspiring producer and took the role because she was promised training in the industry, but after two years, she’s still mostly running his errands, dealing with his breakups, and dealing with his little tantrums. At the beginning of the film, she’s on the verge of a breakdown.

King and Efron are the best couple in A family affair. They give their characters a personal connection that simmers beneath their turbulent professional relationship, making them seem like siblings (except when Zara plays the older sister of her fame-infantilized boss), turning their arguments into squabbles. The script is clearly designed to parody this kind of Hollywood persona, and Efron is fixated on it, selling every joke at the expense of his own character.

Meanwhile, Zara’s mother Brooke (Nicole Kidman) is at a crossroads of her own. A successful author, she is now trying to get back into writing in her private life, years after the once devastating death of Zara’s father. Leila (Kathy Bates), her editor and mother-in-law, is also encouraging Brooke to start dating again. Kidman and Bates, next in line for Best Duo, get most of the expository scenes needed to hook passive viewers, but they make good headway thanks to their star power.

These storylines collide when Chris accidentally meets Brooke, who has been looking for Zara when she was away. They realise how little they know about each other and start talking. They find that they have more to tell each other than they bargained for and one thing leads to another. This is, of course, a hell that Zara could not have imagined. The three actors mix and form A family affairs romantic comedy energy, with Kidman as a grounded, romance-swept presence, King prone to comedic exaggeration, and Efron jumping back and forth between the two poles.

It is not a good sign when the romantic leads of a romantic comedy are at best number 3 among the acting couples, but it does speak to a strong divide in what A family affair is well received and not well received. Their first scene (which is also the one that gets the most laughs) is by far their best, but as much as we understand why their characters are attracted to each other, Kidman and Efron lack the critical spark that draws us into the ups and downs of their relationship.

It could be a problem of chemistry, but it could also be due to the script, because The fact that the film drifts into the dramatic in the second half almost brings the whole thing to a crash.

“A Family Affair” suffers from a common Netflix movie problem

Even if it ultimately still holds together

However, its strengths have kept it afloat for me. The advantage of this three-person structure is that When I wasn’t that interested in Chris and Brooke, I still cared about how their affair would affect her relationship with ZaraAnd as the title suggests, the film is smart enough not to suddenly ignore these character dynamics when the new couple shows up. A family affair has a larger meaning: It’s about the value of seeing others beyond the roles they play in your life, and being more than the roles you play, even if you want to be.

Although it has its weaknesses, A family affair holds together well enough to entertain. However, it also suffers from the visual storytelling handicap that comes with this type of Netflix filmSimilar to the classic approach in television, the camera exists to see, not to speak. It can Additive visual moments (like a good visual gag involving an absurdly heavy door), but when trying to hold the attention of an inattentive audience, the film can’t depend on something you have to see to understand.

This is undoubtedly limiting. It can also sometimes result in a kind of bland aesthetic, as if attention to the image beyond its most basic function no longer has any value. It got me thinking about how Nancy Meyers almost made a Netflix movie, and how this film tries to go in the same direction as her work, but without her talent for opulent design. The lack of this effect is notable, at least to this active viewer.

What it means to be a Netflix movie is likely changing. The streamer hired a new head of its film division this year, and with him, the era of industry-beating volume and sometimes exorbitant budgets is ostensibly coming to an end. But the emphasis on passive viewing isn’t going away anytime soon, so I hope executives learn from what works. A family affairand recognize that the image must be nurtured, even if the visual language of filmmaking must be secondary.

A family affair will be available to stream on Netflix on Friday, June 28. The film is 111 minutes long and is rated PG-13 due to sexual content, partial nudity, and some strong language.

A young woman discovers her mother is having an affair with her boss, complicating her professional and personal life. As she deals with the emotional fallout, unexpected relationships and family secrets come to light. The film delves into the complexities of love, loyalty and the bonds that bind them, offering a mix of drama and comedy as the characters confront their intertwined fates.

Per

• Really clicks when it comes to laughter
• The script offers a real perspective on the spoiled male movie star
• The comedic chemistry between Zac Efron and Joey King

Disadvantages

• Effort to create real drama
• Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman lack the spark as romantic leads
• Visually boring