‘A Household Affair’ film overview: Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman’s drained age-gap sexcapade is an insipid affair

Nicole Kidman, Joey King and Zac Efron in a nonetheless from ‘A Household Affair’
| Photograph Credit score: Netflix

After weeks of teasing steamy scenes between thirst-trapped Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman, Netflix is now streaming A Household Affair — a rom-com that trots out the tiring age-gap trope as soon as once more. The newest rom-com is a testomony to Hollywood’s delusion that merely pairing provocative stars can salvage even essentially the most tepid tales.

The plot revolves round Chris Cole (Zac Efron), an insufferably smug film star whose data of on a regular basis life is as restricted as his appearing vary. His character, a mid-thirties diva with intimacy points, stumbles into the lifetime of Brooke Harwood (Nicole Kidman), a widowed vogue author residing in a waterside mansion, and occurs to be mom to Cole’s pissed off PA, Zara (Joey King). The 2 are thrust collectively in a sequence of contrived and painfully unfunny conditions that are supposed to move for a forbidden romance.

From the outset, the movie’s premise reeks of desperation. Chris, in a match of pique, barges into the house of his overworked assistant, solely to come across Brooke. The following romance between Chris and Brooke feels inorganic, wood, and devoid of any real chemistry, relying as a substitute on the novelty of the star-pairing to hold the story.

A nonetheless from ‘A Household Affair’

The somewhat apparent parallels with Prime Video’s Anne Hathaway starrer, The Thought Of You, from earlier this yr, appeared inevitable. The place The Thought of You delivered a nuanced new have a look at a middle-aged girl’s romance with a youthful star — infused with real chemistry and mature reflections on love and life — A Household Affair flounders in a sea of clichés and compelled humour.

Hathaway’s efficiency drew you right into a plausible, tender connection that resonated, whereas the Efron-Kidman pairing seems like a clumsy blind date gone unsuitable, marred by writing that substitutes wit with slapstick. Their sexual stress is neither titillating nor convincing, and the supposed horror and disgust it provokes in Zara are performed for non-existent laughs.

Having delivered a riveting efficiency in final yr’s The Iron Claw, it feels painful to look at Efron revert to his attribute comedic overacting. His character right here is so out of contact with actuality that he hasn’t visited a grocery retailer in many years. Efron’s efficiency meanders from smug self-satisfaction to bewildered incompetence, by no means discovering a center floor which may make his character remotely relatable.

Kidman, alternatively, is woefully miscast as Brooke. Her sudden inexplicable attraction to this man-child is about as plausible as a tabloid headline. The script does her no favors, providing her little greater than recycled rom-com tropes to work with.

A nonetheless from ‘A Household Affair’

Director Richard LaGravenese and screenwriter Carrie Solomon appear to have misplaced their approach early on. The movie’s pacing is erratic, with unresolved sexual stress evaporating lengthy earlier than it ought to, leaving the plot lurching from one predictable state of affairs to the subsequent.

There isn’t a lot to say about King, whose entitled egocentric outbursts are simply plain annoying. Supporting characters, performed by the likes of Liza Koshy and Sherry Cola are diminished to mere equipment. Even the only voice of motive within the movie, Kathy Bates, exists solely to focus on the leads’ inadequacies.

Ultimately, the one snicker A Household Affair manages to muster is a determined “Your Mother” joke at its personal expense. The actual punchline? The movie’s existence feels prefer it hinges solely on this last-ditch try at humour — or maybe the largest joke is that it was made in any respect.

A Household Affair is presently streaming on Netflix