Netflix’s love machine goes limp with A Family Affair: KATE DENNETT snoozes through Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron’s age-gap romance that isn’t half as steamy as you’d expect

Judgement:

Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron last played a romantic role 12 years ago in the hit crime drama The Paperboy, but unfortunately they failed to make the same impact in their big screen romantic return.

Kidman and Efron try their best to heat things up in the highly anticipated Netflix rom-com A Family Affair, coming out in May-December, but the results are rather tepid.

Efron plays the vain movie star Chris Cole, while Kidman plays writer Brook Harwood, the mother of his patient assistant Zara (Joey King).

Chris and Brook have a drunken fling, much to Zara’s horror – but after a sizzling start, their on-screen chemistry quickly cools.

After the smash hit of The Idea of ​​You starring Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine, which bridged the age gap, A Family Affair failed to live up to expectations. And even Nicole’s star qualities can’t save this streaming exclusive.

Directed by Richard LaGravenese, the film opens with the tense dynamic between the conceited Chris and his patient assistant Zara, who grows increasingly fed up with his ridiculous requests.

He asks her to find the “break-up” earrings he always gives to women he’s about to dump, and threatens to fire her for any little mistake.

Eventually, an exasperated Zara throws in the towel.

Chris and Brook have a drunken fling, much to the horror of their daughter Zara – but after a sizzling start, their on-screen chemistry quickly cools

While Chris tries to rehire Zara, he meets her widowed mother Brook, a celebrated writer, and they soon reach an impasse.

They start dating and – suddenly – Chris’ vanity and superficiality disappear when the love of an older woman magically erases all his negative character traits..

While it has all the hallmarks of a Hollywood romcom, the execution leaves much to be desired as the dynamic between the lovers quickly becomes clichéd and unbearable.

While the trailer promises exciting sex scenes and plenty of romance, the end result isn’t the mature romance Netflix viewers are used to.

Spoiler alert: it’s really just a drunken fling and a few kisses. Anyone who’s watched multiple seasons of Bridgerton will be left hopelessly unsatisfied.

There are only a few convincing romantic moments, but their chemistry fizzles out by the end of the first act. And Chris’s blink-and-you-miss-it transformation from airhead to gentleman feels clumsily shoehorned into the script.

Efron takes on the role of vain movie star Chris Cole, while Kidman plays writer Brook Harwood, who is the mother of his long-suffering assistant Zara (Joey King).

After the steamy triumph over the age gap in Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine’s The Idea of ​​You (pictured), A Family Affair no longer meets the same standards

The film also suffers from the emphasis placed on Zara as the disgruntled assistant and resentful daughter, when most viewers are presumably tuning in for a love story..

A clever script would have kept things simple by making the story revolve around a widow searching for true love who ends up in the arms of a younger man.

But what A Family Affair delivers is only half a romance; the other half is all about the unbearable, success-obsessed dynamic between Chris and Zara.

When a family bond blossoms over Christmas, there is a glimmer of hope that A Family Affair can match the cozy atmosphere of a romantic comedy. But then a heated argument breaks out and we are disappointed again..

Viewers who have already seen The Idea of ​​You will not be able to resist comparing the two. A Family Affair pales in comparison to its rival.

The film suffers from the emphasis placed on Zara as the disgruntled assistant and resentful daughter, when most viewers are presumably tuning in for a love story

Kidman could easily have shined in this role, but was hampered by a series of comedic clichés and tired romantic cliches

While single mother Solene and boyband heartthrob Hayes Campbell won hearts with their sexy and endearing storylines, Chris and Brook lack the same charm.

Kidman could easily have shone in this role, but was hampered by a series of comedic clichés and tired romantic cliches.

Despite all the hype, this film deserves to go straight from Netflix’s top 10 to the bottom of the digital bargain bin.