Bravo to the writers of “A Family Affair”. I was worried it would be a watered down version of “The Idea Of You” because of the star power alone. I was very wrong. First, let’s discuss the MOTHER/DAUGHTER and GRANDMOTHER/GRANDDAUGHTER relationships. It is obvious the writer has a teen or older daughter and a Baby Boomer mother. The dialogue and conflicts were so relatable I texted both my daughter and mother to tell them to watch this movie. Kathy Bates, who is brilliant in everything, was a marvel! When she tells her granddaughter, Zara, to “Stop whining”, I fell over laughing. She nailed the Boomer woman perfectly! Women like my own mother and Bate’s character are no nonsense, short on bullshit women. That’s how they raised us when they weren’t pursuing their own ambitions, leaving us with a house key around our necks and frying baloney for dinner. This grandmother had wisdom to give, as well as hugs and empathy but no tolerance for self pity. She was perfect. Then the relationship between Mother and Daughter was spot on! They argued and neither backed down, but still held much respect and love. I especially related to Kidman’s character lecturing her daughter about her flighty ambitions and not finishing anything she started. But still lent support for each new dream. It is always a balance to support your kids in their dreams but douse them with a bucket of reality too. Joey King made a frustrated, spoiled, privileged character endearing. And at first we all felt sorry for her. But as the story unfolded we saw that she was selfish when it came to the people she loved. Efron was a great, flawed character who didn’t know how to show emotion. Kidman was stuck in her midlife “what do I do now?” And they were great together. The fact that the romantic characters were over 40 but still 16 years apart was MY JAM! No more spoilers, just watch it. I snort laughed several times and appreciated the director showing how beautiful Los Angeles is on the coast (although the geography didn’t add up in reality, I was okay with it)

Posted by cindykeh at 2024-06-29 15:29:48 UTC