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A Family Affair
Independent Jun 28, 2024
A surprising romance kicks off comic consequences for a young woman, her mother, and her movie-star boss as they face the complications of love, sex, and identity.
Director & Top Cast
Technical Specifications
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: 2.00 : 1
Other Details
Country of Origin: United States
Language: English
Showtimes
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(U.S. Only)
Summaries
Plot Summary
- 24-year-old Zara (Joey King) is tired of being under-appreciated as the personal assistant to self-absorbed Hollywood star Chris Cole (Zac Efron). Chris always gifts a pair of diamond earrings to a woman he is dating, before he breaks up with her. Chris makes Zara pick up his stuff after his breakups. Zara believed that she was being groomed by Chris to run his company. Chris gets upset when Zara doesn't show up at 8:30 am like he asked. Zara was meeting a writer friend of hers named Stella (Sherry Cola), begging her to redo the script of the 3rd installment of Chris's movie franchise called Icarus Rush. Chris locks Zara out of his house and Zara quits. She says that she is the only one who cares about his career and Hollywood agents only want to make money off him by putting him in garbage. Chris retorts that Zara has no experience in movie Production. A short time after Zara quits, Chris arrives at her house to offer her an assistant producer position. Brooke Harwood (Nicole Kidman), an author on hiatus hoping to get back in the game. She had spent the last decade looking after her daughter, and she finally decided that it was time to cater to her interests as well. When Chris entered Brooke's house in search of Zara, her life drastically changed.There was an instant spark between Chris and Brooke when they met for the first time. Chris was desperate to have Zara work for him again, and he ended up at her house. Even though Chris was loved by his fans, he did not have any friends, and he felt at ease talking to Brooke. He was not the self-obsessed Hollywood actor when he was with her; they discussed a wide range of things, and her knowledge about the world fascinated Chris. After a few shots of tequila, Chris and Brooke ended up kissing. It had been a long time since Brooke experienced such affection, and she realized how deeply she missed it. They were already in Brooke's bedroom when Zara returned home. She was looking for her mother, and she was shocked to find her naked with her boss. Chris is 16 years younger to Brooke. Zara fainted seeing them together, and she had to be taken to the doctor to get her vitals checked. Zara asks Chris to stay away from her mother. Chris promised to do so as long as Zara agreed to join him on the sets as an associate producer.Zara assumed it would be the end of Chris and Brooke's brief affair, but the lovers could not get enough of each other. They did not intend on offending Zara, but at the same time, they were not ready to stay away from each other. Chris invited Brooke to dinner to talk things over, and it turned into a romantic affair. Brooke was impressed when Chris quoted a line from her book. When Brooke returned home, she told Zara the half-truth. She wanted her daughter to know that she had been on a dinner date with Chris, but at the same time, she was afraid of her judgment, so she chose to keep the rest of it a secret. Brooke took her mother-in-law, Leila's (Kathy Bates), advice, and she decided to give her relationship with Chris a chance. Leila was Brooke's editor before she became her mother-in-law. Brooke was happy with Chris, and even if it was meant to be a brief affair, she wanted to experience it and not run away from it, fearing the outcome.Meanwhile, Chris rejects Stella as the writer to do the rewrite on his script. He and the director of the movie find someone else whom they feel is more qualified. Zara finds out that the other writer is Brooke when he finds the script on Brooke's nightstand. Eventually Zara finds out that Chris and Brooke are dating.Zara was vocal about the fact that she did not approve of Chris and Brooke's relationship. This was the first time she had seen her mother with someone other than her late father, and it was difficult for her to accept it. Moreover, she believed her mother had betrayed her trust by deciding to be with Chris behind her back. Brooke had spent her entire life caring about the feelings of her daughter, but now that Zara was old enough to look after herself, all she wanted was to prioritize her own happiness. Zara was convinced that Chris would eventually leave her mother, and it was not a relationship worth fighting over. She was afraid that her mother was falling for his trap, and she begged her to break up with Chris. Leila stepped in, and she convinced Zara to come over for Christmas at her place. She had invited Brooke and Chris there as well. She spoke to Zara and asked her to give them a chance. It was her mother's life, and she deserved to make her own choices. Leila helped Zara realize that Brooke was more than a mother; she was an individual who was allowed to fall in love and be happy. Leila invites Chris for a Christmas dinner with Brooke and Zara. Chris reveals that this is the first family Christmas dinner that he has been invited to in many years as he doesn't have any friends.Zara gradually started to accept their relationship, especially after seeing how happy her mother was around Chris. But Zara lost her trust when she came across the same pair of diamond earrings that Chris always gifted his girlfriends before breaking up with them. When they returned home after celebrating Christmas, Zara confronted Chris in front of Brooke. Zara was aware that her mother was serious about her relationship with Chris. Chris defended himself, saying that he bought the earrings as a Christmas gift and not a breakup present. But when Zara mentioned how he always took his previous girlfriends to Hollywood Street, Brooke thought it was enough. She had started to believe that they were in love, but she realized that maybe she had been mistaken.Zara realized that she should have been more considerate of her mother's feelings when she decided to confront Chris. She also realized how she had been completely self-absorbed and had turned a blind eye to her best friend, Eugenie (Liza Koshy). She was so busy dealing with her mess that she never cared to find out how Eugenie was suffering in her relationship. When Zara came to visit Eugenie after the confrontation, Eugenie finally confessed how terrible a friend Zara had been all along. On New Year's Eve, Zara knocked on Eugenie's door. She apologized for not being there for her, and she promised to do better.Zara had decided to leave her job, but before that, she finally had a word with Chris. He was still upset about the breakup, and he wondered if Brooke hated him. Zara assured him that Brooke was doing alright and that she was moving to Princeton to teach in the spring semester. Chris confessed that he bought the earrings the one time that he did consider breaking up with Brooke because he was afraid that things were going too well. He tended to run away from anything too good for him, and he considered doing the same with Brooke. But then he changed his mind, and he forgot about the earrings. All he wanted was for Zara to tell her mother that he never intended to leave her. He had fallen in love with her, and he missed her. Zara decided to fix it before it was too late.Zara met her mother before she left for Princeton. She acknowledged that she had not been an ideal daughter. After everything Brooke had gone through for her, the least Zara could do as her daughter was happy for her. Brooke was glad that Zara finally realized that she was more than just her mother. After their sweet reunion, Zara wondered if Brooke wanted to get back with Chris, but she believed she was done.Zara and Leila devised a plan to get Brooke and Chris together, or at least give them a chance to talk it out. Zara brought Chris to the supermarket, and Leila accompanied Brooke there. Brooke and Chris had no idea that they would run into each other, but they were glad that they did. Zara apologized to them for messing up their relationship, and she hoped that they would give each other another chance. A year later, Brooke released her second book, and Zara became a producer. Brooke and Chris' relationship was still going strong, and as long as they kept the romantic details from Zara, she was happy for them.
Storyline
- Zara, who still lives at home with her mother Brooke, works as an assistant to demanding movie star Chris. She must constantly deal with his various whims, and often she is the one who handles things when he breaks up with yet another girlfriend. However, his promises to help her become a producer remain unfulfilled; finally, this drives Zara to quit. In an attempt to get her back, Chris comes to her house where he meets her mother. He becomes fascinated by Brooke, and one thing leads to another, suddenly presenting Zara with new challenges.