In Hollywood, the “idea of ​​you,” if you are a woman over 40, is that “everything stays in the family,” especially the love lives of a mother and daughter. Of course, it is not new today that practically identical films arrive on different platforms at the same time, such as The Idea of ​​You, from Amazon Prime Video, as well as A Family Affair, from Netflix. They are practically the SAME story. And one with a romantic mask but full of red flags.

First, the plot is about an independent and mature woman, still traumatized from a past relationship, who has an excellent relationship with her teenage daughter, navigating the lonely moments when her daughter must leave home and yes, finally open up to her. a new love. By chance, the two intelligent and cultured women are unaware of the most famous young men in the world who cross their path (one is the most famous singer of the moment, and the other, is the most famous actor of the moment) and the chemistry is immediate.

So far, ok, but we continue: the two most admired and sought-after stars fall in love with these MUCH OLDER women because, with them, they can talk, be heard, and be “themselves”. Is Freud out there listening?

And there’s more: the two women fall into the story of “being so special and different from the rest”, but they arouse their daughters’ jealousy, eventually having to choose between their happiness before their own, not before being humiliated by young people who reveal to They, God, fell into the cliché talk of their conquerors. The love between them is genuine, but the happiness of their daughters is more important, and the couple separates. Of course, over time, they meet again and “are happily ever after”.

The same view that women after 40 are “old”

The summary is exactly the same for both films, despite one featuring Anne Hathaway, aged just 41, and the other, Nicole Kidman, aged 57. In other words, from the age of 40, as Hollywood helps to immortalize: it’s over for women. women, even though we are officially trying to change that narrative.

And if this negative and dangerous cliché wasn’t enough, in both films women of different ages are placed in opposite positions, forcing the mother to give up her life so that her daughter can be happy. It’s the same message that women compete, that the “good” woman gives up her sexuality and future so that another, younger woman, can have hers. Meanwhile, the young man is the romantic idealist with a clingy and inconsequential past, but who truly falls in love for the first time, and who fights for this clearly maternal figure (again, FREUD!), being forced to accept that “the society” doesn’t want them together. And yes, he waits for his love.

Anne Hathaway and Nicole Kidman, two Oscar-winning actresses, have enough charisma to give credibility to a story so cliché that they could do it in their sleep. Her romantic partners, Nicholas Galitzine and Zac Efron, are stars of the moment and there is chemistry that holds between them, but having Anne as the mother of a teenager, although biologically possible, was strange while having Nicole as Joey King‘s mother, worked.

What is still unacceptable is not focusing on films that discuss the complex relationships between mothers and daughters, there are many layers that Psychiatry still studies, but there is NEVER a film in which a mature father falls in love with a young woman and has problems with his son teenager for this. Even less is it expected that he will give up his life for his son? And the fact that this story is implausible says everything we need before embracing these complicated romantic comedies.

Everything in the Family: everything is distracting, not always positively

If you can get over the strangeness that Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman‘s altered faces provoke from the first scene, A Family Affair is that old romantic comedy that we know by heart, but it’s still distracting and makes us smile.

Here, we have Zara (Joey King) who is the personal assistant of Hollywood heartthrob Chris Cole (Zac Efron), a vain, narcissistic man who collects a list of ex-girlfriends. Their professional relationship is toxic, but Zara remains in the position officially because he is helping her move into production, but it is more apparent that she, equally self-centered, is addicted to pain.

Unintentionally, a misunderstanding between her and her boss leads to an unexpected meeting between Chris and her mother, Brooke (Nicole Kidman), a famous writer who, although she lives in Hollywood, barely knows who he is. Within hours, Brooke and Chris realize they have undeniable chemistry between them and, free, act together. When Zara catches them both, the drama begins.

It’s fun and impossible to imagine what Nicole’s personal life was like, at just 22 years old was married to Tom Cruise, a star very similar to Chris Cole, an irrelevant piece of information that makes us want to see her on stage more than Joey King, she is ALWAYS wonderful no matter the role.

A Family Affair is a light and unpretentious production, which is only useful if you really want to spend an hour of your day without thinking deeply.

The similarities between the films

The curious similarity of the works kind of signals a rom-com aspect with mature protagonists, unfortunately, still victims of the sexist formula. The Idea of ​​You comes from the best seller of the same name and which, technically, is inspired by a real story: that of Olivia Wilde and Harry Styles.

The director/actress and the singer fell in love when they worked together on a film and began a relationship that lasted less than two years and the 10-year difference between them was always remembered and highlighted. Public pressure did not help. Officially, they remain friends, but they are separated.

It would be incredible if the narrative actually changed and we were seeing romantic stories about mature women without neuroses a la Sally from When Harry Met Sally or any other Meg Ryan character. Not even the story in which a wedding is the symbol of a happy ending.

Both Brooke and Solène, with more than a decade between them, are good examples of characters we can invest in. It’s also incredible that they rediscover passion and love after trauma and time dedicated to raising their daughters, especially for young people almost 20 years younger, but they still deserve more than that.

Are movies bad? No, they serve their purpose. What I propose is: let’s try to go further?

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