This all very well could be a fever dream, or a slightly buzzed hallucination. Such are the thoughts that pass as the white wine is uncorked — let’s be real, it’s a twist off — and “ A Family Affair ” opens with real-life Zac Efron red carpet footage of the actor at TIFF . But this isn’t TMZ, this is a scripted Netflix rom-com.
And we love it. Directed by “Beautiful Creatures” helmer Richard LaGravenese from a script by Carrie Solomon, “A Family Affair” reunites Efron with his “The Paper Boy” co-star Nicole Kidman , and adds in beloved everywoman Joey King to make a different kind of unconventional love triangle. Both Efron and King’s characters just want Kidman to be a supportive mother type: One as her actual mom, and the other as a MILF.
King plays Zara, the 24-year-old daughter of Kidman’s famous novelist character Brooke. While Zara wants to be a Hollywood agent, she’s quite literally stuck in rush hour traffic most of the time while catering to her A-list actor boss Chris Cole’s (Efron) every whim. It’s Zara who brings the jewelry Chris forgot for his break-up date, a signature move where he gifts his love interest a pair of earrings — and not the engagement ring they expect — before kicking them to the curb.
Chris is a heartbreaker, and therefore Zara’s shock at discovering Chris and her own mother Brooke getting it on is quite understandable. There are no games here: Chris is well-aware of the fact that Brooke is Zara’s mom,.
