A Family Affair (2024)

A Family Affair Review

Look forward to a crazy, funny uproar with Netflix’s “A Family Affair” directed by Richard LaGravenese and scripted by Carrie Solomon. The movie features a star-studded cast of Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, Joey King, Liza Koshy, Kathy Bates and Shirley MacLaine that brings together talent and charm like never before seen.

In this heartwarming story Zara (Joey King) finds herself in the middle of a romantic tornado when her job as an assistant to movie star Chris Cole (Zac Efron) takes an unexpected turn. Swept off his feet by none other than Zara’s mother, Chris’ affections veer just a bit off course which leads to some hilarious heartfelt events.

I’ve always been a big fan of Joe Wilkinson; he was one of the highlights in the sublime slow burn sitcom Him and Her and single-handedly held up many seasons of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. OK, you might not like his brand of comedy but then that’s comedy for you, one person’s pie-in-the-face hilarity is another person’s idea of torture.

So whether or not you like A Family Affair* is much like picking up a pair of shoes at random from a shelf. They might fit. They might not.

The premise is simple: Joe is an inept manager at a wellness retreat who has a beautiful partner, but is also neck-deep in debt. He’s surrounded by art works but decides to deface them all in order to scupper a pending auction to buy the place.

Around him are various relatives including a gold-digging blonde who sleeps with rich men for cash, a zen-loving expert; a guest who can’t keep his clothes on; a phone addicted alpha male and Jane Asher as another relative who spends most of the film smashed on a mysterious tea, which then gets most of the residents equally hammered.

Is it perfect? No. But all credit to the lead man, who manages at least eight belly laughs in the first 10 minutes alone. You won’t be counting down until the closing credits. Or will you?

At around 71 minutes long, there’s no danger of the ‘movie’ outstaying its welcome but ‘feature-length possible sitcom pilot’ might be closer to the mark. There is potential here for a subsequent series, and while some scenes could be snappier, if you just go with it, it takes you somewhere wonderful.

And yes, there are the usual comedy tropes an urn of ashes that end up in unexpected places (or faces), plus some bedroom shenanigans reminiscent of a 1970s West End farce but this is still great fun, and very much in keeping with a classic John Cleese film from the 1970s.

If you will permit me: Joe Wilkinson plays a modern-day Basil Fawlty to perfection in this film, and everything else about it is faultless too. Some comedies can’t get two laughs out of 90 minutes. I stopped counting how many times I laughed in the first 10. It’s a Family Affair and thanks to some Cannonball Run-style outtakes over the closing credits, there are plenty more chuckles to be had in the final moments.

Watch A Family Affair For Free On Gomovies.