# A Family Affair
**A Family Affair** is a 2024 American romantic comedy directed by Richard LaGravenese and released on Netflix on June 28, 2024, in which a young woman's life is upended when the movie star she works for begins a romance with her widowed mother.[1](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81361154) It stars [Nicole Kidman](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicole-kidman), Zac Efron, and [Joey King](https://www.edgepedia.org/joey-king), with [Kathy Bates](https://www.edgepedia.org/kathy-bates) and Liza Koshy in supporting roles.[1](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81361154)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | Netflix, June 28, 2024 (United States)[1](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81361154) |
| Director and writer | Richard LaGravenese (*P.S. I Love You*, *Beautiful Creatures*), from a screenplay by Carrie Solomon[1](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81361154) |
| Main cast | Nicole Kidman as Brooke Harwood, Zac Efron as Chris Cole, Joey King as Zara Ford, Kathy Bates as Leila Ford, Liza Koshy as Eugenie[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/a-family-affair-2023) |
| Rating and runtime | PG-13; about 1 hour 51 minutes to 1 hour 54 minutes depending on the listing[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_family_affair_2024_2) • [2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/a-family-affair-2023) |
| Critical scores | 36% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (101 reviews) and 31% on the audience Popcornmeter; a Metacritic Metascore of 43 from 23 reviews[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_family_affair_2024_2) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21051906/criticreviews/) |
| IMDb rating | 5.4 from about 41,000 user votes[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/a-family-affair-2023) |
| Streaming | Available on Netflix and Netflix Standard with Ads; not on Disney+, Prime Video, or Apple TV+[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/a-family-affair-2023) • [5](https://stream-tracker.com/en/film/a-family-affair-2024) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Zara Ford (Joey King) works as the personal assistant to Chris Cole ([Zac Efron](https://www.edgepedia.org/zac-efron)), a self-absorbed Hollywood star whose latest franchise film, *Icarus Rush 4*, is described within the movie as "'Die Hard' meets 'Miracle on 34th Street'".[6](https://www.thewrap.com/a-family-affair-review-netflix-nicole-kidman-zac-efron/) When Zara quits, a chance encounter brings Chris together with her mother, Brooke Harwood (Nicole Kidman), a widowed, award-winning writer, and the two quickly begin a romance.[1](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81361154) • [7](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2024-06-26/a-family-affair-netflix-nicole-kidman-zac-efron-joey-king) Netflix describes the result as a multigenerational, coming-of-age romantic comedy in which the three characters face the complications of love, sex, and identity.[1](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81361154)
## Production
The screenplay was written by Carrie Solomon, who was 24 when she wrote it; director Richard LaGravenese said he saw it as an opportunity to make a romantic comedy that was also a coming-of-age story for three characters at three different stages of life.[8](https://www.thewrap.com/a-family-affair-richard-lagravenese-interview/) After the 2023 WGA and [SAG-AFTRA](https://www.edgepedia.org/sag-aftra) strikes ended, the production returned for two weekends of reshoots at Trancas Country Market in [Malibu, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/malibu-california), to capture a revised ending before the summer 2024 release.[9](https://www.netflixmovies.com/a-family-affair-2024)
One scene in which Chris takes an ice bath was inspired by the real Efron's bulking-up regimen for the film *The Iron Claw*.[10](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/a-family-affair-netflix-movie-review-2024) A running gag in which Zara walks in on her mother and boss and collides with a doorframe took repeated takes; Joey King performed the hit seven times, with foam wood placed in the door and frame for safety.[11](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/a-family-affair-nicole-kidman-zac-efron-joey-king-release-date-photo)
## Reception
The film received broadly negative reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes recorded a 36% Tomatometer from 101 reviews and a 31% audience score, with a critics consensus stating that despite Efron and Kidman's return to rom-com territory, the film "squabbles with its own tonality too much to elevate its litany of clichés".[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_family_affair_2024_2) Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 43 based on 23 reviews, in the "mixed or average" range.[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21051906/criticreviews/) IMDb users rated it 5.4 out of 10 from about 41,000 votes.[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/a-family-affair-2023)
Reviewers disagreed about the leads. *Time* found the repartee between Efron and Kidman amusing and their chemistry surprisingly good, noting the two had previously played lovers in the 2012 film *The Paperboy*.[12](https://time.com/6993661/a-family-affair-review/) Other critics were less convinced: the *AV Club* gave a D−, and several reviews cited a lack of chemistry between the leads or a story that "makes no emotional sense".[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_family_affair_2024_2) Angie Han of *The Hollywood Reporter*, in a 70-point review, wrote that the film lurches between showbiz send-up and earnest romantic drama without settling on a single tone, while crediting both halves with enough charm to leave viewers smiling.[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21051906/criticreviews/)
## Comparison with The Idea of You
*A Family Affair* was released weeks after Prime Video's *The Idea of You*, which also depicts an older single mother falling for a much younger, famous man, and reviewers treated the two as a matched pair.[12](https://time.com/6993661/a-family-affair-review/) Several critics judged *A Family Affair* the weaker of the two: *The Independent* called it "like a heavily medicated *The Idea of You*" with less romantic chemistry, and the ABC's review noted that *The Idea of You* grounded its premise in a sincere reflection on middle age, misogyny, and sex.[13](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/a-family-affair-netflix-nicole-kidman-b2567905.html) • [14](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-03/a-family-affair-review-zac-efron-nicole-kidman-film/104030384) The *Los Angeles Times* interview with the cast framed the pairing differently, with Efron describing the earlier *Paperboy* relationship as an unrequited love whose building blocks carried into this film.[7](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2024-06-26/a-family-affair-netflix-nicole-kidman-zac-efron-joey-king)
## References
1. [A Family Affair, Netflix Media Center](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81361154)
2. [A Family Affair streaming: where to watch online?, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/a-family-affair-2023)
3. [A Family Affair (2024), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_family_affair_2024_2)
4. [A Family Affair (2024) - Metacritic reviews, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21051906/criticreviews/)
5. [Is the movie A Family Affair available on Netflix, Disney+, Prime or Apple TV+?, Stream Tracker](https://stream-tracker.com/en/film/a-family-affair-2024)
6. ['A Family Affair' Review: Zac Efron, Nicole Kidman's Netflix Rom-Com, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/a-family-affair-review-netflix-nicole-kidman-zac-efron/)
7. ['A Family Affair': Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, Joey King on their rom-com, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2024-06-26/a-family-affair-netflix-nicole-kidman-zac-efron-joey-king)
8. ['A Family Affair' Director Richard LaGravenese Explains What's Different About Making a Rom-Com in 2024, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/a-family-affair-richard-lagravenese-interview/)
9. [Watch A Family Affair on Netflix Today!, NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/a-family-affair-2024)
10. [A Family Affair movie review & film summary, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/a-family-affair-netflix-movie-review-2024)
11. [In A Family Affair, Joey King's Celebrity Boss Is Dating Her Mom, Netflix Tudum](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/a-family-affair-nicole-kidman-zac-efron-joey-king-release-date-photo)
12. [Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman Have Surprisingly Great Chemistry in A Family Affair, Time](https://time.com/6993661/a-family-affair-review/)
13. [A Family Affair review: Nicole Kidman romance is like a heavily medicated The Idea of You, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/a-family-affair-netflix-nicole-kidman-b2567905.html)
14. [A Family Affair review: this film fails to have fun with itself, ABC News (Australia)](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-03/a-family-affair-review-zac-efron-nicole-kidman-film/104030384)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2024 › Titles symbols to L*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license