A family affair is the newest Netflix original movie for 2024. Starring A-listers Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman, as well as Netflix rom-com veteran Joey King, this is the movie for you if you’re looking for a fun film full of forbidden love, romance, and hilarious one-liners.
Like most films in the romantic comedy genre, there aren’t many big twists in this film. However, since the story follows widowed mother Brooke Harwood (Kidman) who falls in love with global star Chris Cole (Efron) – who also happens to be her daughter’s insufferable boss – most viewers will want to know whether or not the romance works.
Will Brooke and Chris live happily ever after? Read on to find out what happens in the end A family affair on Netflix…
It’s clear from the beginning of the film that Chris Cole has the makings of a classic movie star… he’s super rich, super handsome… and also super self-centered. His long-suffering assistant Zara spends her time running errands for him, most of which seem to involve picking up his things from the house of the last girl he dumped.
But we soon discover that there is more to Chris than meets the eye. While he may have perfected the role of a movie star on the outside, he is also alone, has no real friends and suffers from self-doubt. Zara, on the other hand, is smart and bright and hates that her life revolves around picking up other people’s clothes from the dry cleaners.
We soon meet Zara’s mother, Brooke, who lost her husband Charlie (who was also Zara’s father) over a decade ago and has been single ever since, focusing on raising Zara and writing her books.
Brooke is a highly successful author, which puts pressure on Zara to make something of her career, and when Chris pushes Zara too far, she quits her job on the spot, afraid to go home and tell her mother the news.
However, Chris can barely function without Zara running all his errands for him, so he goes to see her the next day to beg her to take her job back. He even intends to promote her to associate producer on his new film, something he has been promising her for years.
However, Zara isn’t home when he arrives, and since he’s a movie star, he lets himself in. Brooke is cleaning her office and is stunned to find a hot star in her house. But soon the two hit it off over tequila, sparks fly and they tell each other about their past, family and fears… and before they know it, one thing leads to another and they sleep together.
But of course, this is a romantic comedy and things never go smoothly. So Zara comes home while they’re in Brooke’s bedroom, bursts into the room and manages to knock herself unconscious on the doorframe as she tries to make a hasty escape! The couple panic, thinking she’s injured, and eventually go to the doctor. Zara is horrified at what’s happened while Brooke tries to explain.
After Zara is given the medical green light, they head home. Brooke promises that the time she spent with Chris was just one time. So when Chris offers her a new job with a promotion, Zara accepts – but first she makes sure the promotion isn’t just because he’s falling in love with her mother!
However, this wouldn’t be a romantic comedy without a forbidden romance, and so it’s no surprise that Brooke and Chris are secretly dating, having fancy dinners and romantic nights on film sets – all behind Zara’s back. Understandably, Zara isn’t happy when she finds out, and it’s up to her grandmother Leila to convince her to give Chris a chance. But Zara doesn’t have much of a choice, because Chris is coming to her remote cabin for Christmas, and soon they’re all playing happy families.
But just as Chris lets his guard down and enjoys being part of a family for once, Zara finds earrings in his travel bag while packing the car for the trip home – the same earrings he always uses to break up with someone.
When they get home, she attacks Chris, tells her mother what the earrings symbolize, and lists all of Chris’s bad qualities without letting him explain before Brooke, who is completely heartbroken, throws him out of the house.
As Zara continues to work with Chris (awkward!), she realizes that he is also heartbroken, and when she lets slip that Brooke is moving to Princetown to teach for the spring semester, he resigns himself to the fact that it’s over for good.
But Zara knows that both Brooke and Chris are in trouble and comes up with a plan to bring them back together.
He goes to a grocery store with Chris (because earlier in the movie he said that the thing he misses most about being famous is not being able to buy his own groceries) and he is confused when people don’t seem to recognize him.
He loves seeing all the new foods that are available and is in his element when he’s looking at the cereal section. Meanwhile, Zara’s grandma Leila has brought Brooke to the store, claiming she needs fruit because of her dementia, and soon the former couple run into each other by chance.
Zara apologizes for interfering in their relationship, and they both apologize as well, and the air is clear… soon they kiss, and Zara leaves them alone.
As she leaves the store, Zara is in director mode and it becomes clear that she staged the whole thing and that the customers in the store are all extras. As Zara leaves the store, she meets Leila in the car and they high-five.
In the final scene, the film jumps forward in time: Brooke has just published another book and is once again at the peak of her career.
Zara is now a star in the film world and asks her own assistant to make her a coffee. She and Chris get on well and he asks her when he will be needed on set for the night shots.
Zara jokes that he can never stay out all night, and he jokes back, “Your mother doesn’t say that,” showing that he’s still very much with Brooke. Zara, however, cringes at the comment, suggesting that she still doesn’t really enjoy talking about her mother’s love life.
But everything goes well, and as Chris leaves Zara’s office, she says “Love you” in a familiar tone, and as the credits roll, there is a happy ending.
A family matter is now available worldwide on Netflix.
