Movies News Talk
A Family Affair and The Idea Of You share the premise of a single mother who gets into a relationship with a celebrity many years younger than them, but A Family Affair did something better than The Idea of You: the family dynamic. While the romance between Brooke and Chris is at the center of A Family Affair, the movie takes more time to explore the dynamic between Brooke and Zara and the effect that Brooke’s relationship with Chris has on her relationship with her daughter.
The character of Leila, Zara’s grandmother and Brooke’s mother-in-law in A Family Affair, is key to this, as through her the audience learns more about Brooke’s personal struggles with her husband’s passing and the aftermath of it, as well as how Zara is handling her mother’s relationship. A Family Affair focused more on how the relationship between Brooke and Chris affected the former’s family dynamics rather than how the relationship was affected by the guy’s fame, which was a main topic throughout The Idea Of You.
As good as The Idea of You is, it isn’t a believable story. Solène meeting Hayes so casually at Coachella, their second meeting during the meet-and-greet (in which they spent too much time talking when, in reality, fans barely have time to say “hello” to the artists and take a photo with them at these events), Hayes dedicating a song to her at the concert, and him showing up at her gallery all work in the world of romantic movies but aren’t believable at all. A Family Affair, on the other hand, made the start of Brooke and Chris’ relationship a lot more believable.
Zara having a direct link to Chris as his assistant and Chris showing up at her house to convince her to work for him again are easier to believe than using the wrong bathroom at the Coachella’s VIP lounge and meeting again shortly after in a meet-and-greet. This also makes it easier for the audience to care about Brooke and Chris’ connection, and makes their brief breakup more relatable than Solène and Hayes’.
Despite all this, The Idea of You is still ranked higher and is regarded as a better Rom-com than A Family Affair. The Idea of You has an 81% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics calling Anne Hathaway’s performance and charm as the movie’s biggest strength, along with Michael Showalter’s direction. Critics also praised the script of The Idea of You for not being superficial, which would have been an easy mistake to make given its themes.
A Family Affair, on the other hand, has a 42% critics score, with some pointing out a lack of chemistry between Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron – and, interestingly enough, others praising their chemistry. Critics also didn’t like the combination of comedy and drama in A Family Affair, and found the script to be weak and uneven. Ultimately, A Family Affair and The Idea of You are two different takes on the same premise, and each one has its strengths and flaws.