A Family Affair is an American romantic comedy film directed by Richard LaGravenese, written by Carrie Solomon and available to watch on Netflix.
Cast And Characters
- Nicole Kidman as Brooke Harwood, Zara’s mother – Brooke is an author who lost her husband years ago and has not yet dated anybody until he met Chris.
- Zac Efron as Chris Cole – Chris is Zara’s boss, a celebrity and, according to Zara, a womanizer who fell in love with Zara’s mother.
- Joey King as Zara Ford – Brooke’s daughter and an aspiring producer who has been working for Chris for 2 years.
- Liza Koshy as Eugenie – Zara’s best friend.
- Kathy Bates as Leila Ford, Brooke’s mother-in-law and Zara’s grandmother- Leila always encouraged Brooke to date and supported Brook and Chris’ relationship.
Plot Summary
Chris promised Zara when she started working for him that he would train her to take over his business. But Zara feels underappreciated in her job as Chris is high maintenance and always picks on her. One day, Zara decides to resign from her job and leave Chris’ house in a fit of anger and decides never to come back. But soon after Zara leaves, Chris acknowledges her importance and goes to her house. Zara at that time was not home, so Chris had to wait for Zara. In the meantime, he gets into a conversation with Zara’s mother, Brooke. Brooke and Chris instantly hit off and by the time Zara returns, she unknowingly walks in on them having sex, which shocks Zara, and she warns them to end their relationship.
How Did Brooke And Chris Meet?
Being irritated by Chris, Zara storms out of Chris’ house and resigns because she thinks Chris is only using her and not teaching her anything. After she leaves, Chris regrets letting Zara go and understands how much he needs her and goes to her house. At that time, Zara was not at home, so her mother, Brooke, decided to keep him company until she came back. They start talking about various sorts of things and Brooke tells him that she is a writer. One thing led to another, both of them instantly hit it off, and they ended up kissing each other passionately. Zara returned home with a box of doughnuts in her hand and went to her mother’s room to meet her and to a surprise found them having sex. Zara was shocked to see that, hit her head on the door and fainted. In the evening, while coming back from the doctor, Chris offers Zara the position of Associate Producer, and she asks him to discontinue his relationship with her mother.
How Did Chris And Brooke’s First Date Go?
Chris texts Brooke to meet him for dinner to have a conversation. Brooke at first was sceptical about going but later decided to go. Brooke and Chris’ bond strengthened while they talked more and more about their life, they felt weirdly attracted to each other. All of this happened without Zara’s knowledge. When Brooke comes back, she lies to Zara that she went out for dinner with Chris to talk about what happened the other day and nothing else happened. She kept her relationship a secret from her daughter.
How Did Zara Find Out About Her Mother’s Secret Relationship?
Brooke and Chris have been seeing each other without Zara’s knowledge. One day, Zara goes to her mother’s room to return the dress her friend, Eugenie, borrowed, and she finds the room filled with clothes she has never worn anywhere and also a script of the movie Chris is presently making. Zara gets angry because Chris appointed her mother as a writer for the film and rejected Zara’s choice, and she has been kept in the dark about everything. Zara decides to go to the function Chris was supposed to attend, and is suspicious that her mother will also be there. Zara sees her mother kissing Chris and confronts them. Zara fights with her mother and does not come back home and stays the night with Eugenie.
What Happened During The Christmas Break?
Brooke and Zara always spend Christmas with her grandmother, Leila. This year she invited Chris too, so that she could mend Zara’s relationship with Chris. Slowly Chris started to win over Zara and she was even beginning to accept her mother’s relationship with Chris. But on the day of their return, Zara saw a pair of similar earrings in Chris’ bag which he always used to give his girlfriends before breaking up with them.
Did Chris And Brooke Break Up?
Three of them came back home. Neither Brooke nor Chris has any idea that Zara has seen the earrings in Chris’ bag. Right after coming back home, Zara confronts Chris. Zara reveals that she saw the earrings and told Brooke the story of the earrings, Chris tries to explain that the earrings are only a gift and meant nothing else. Zara also reveals that the New York Street studio set he took her to is the same place where he takes all his girlfriends. Brooke asks Chris to leave.
A Family Affair Ending Explained
Zara leaves her home and starts staying with her friends. After the New Year, the film Chris is working on continues with their shooting, but Chris has a cold shoulder and does not want to shoot. He is sitting on the floor of his van contemplating his life. He comes clean to Zara that those earrings were just earrings he bought for Brooke as a Christmas gift before he came up with the idea of putting a book together for her. He forgot that these were the same earrings he used to previously buy and that they were in his bag. Zara understands how much Chris loves her mother and apologizes for her past behaviour. Zara, as a master planner, took Chris out for shopping. On the other hand, Leila brings Brooke to the same shopping place. She planned out their meeting near the avocado stand. Zara tries to reconcile Brooke and Chris and leaves them alone. Chris confesses his love and they kiss. The movie fast-forwards to one year and the viewers see Brooke on a radio show talking about a new book. Chris is shooting for a new movie and Zara has taken over Chris’ business and is now a producer.
