Film Review – A Family Affair

As a screenwriter, Richard LaGravenese has made his mark with impressive work on features such as “The Fisher King,” “The Ref,” and “A Little Princess.” As a director, LaGravenese isn’t quite as accomplished, delivering deflated pictures like “Beautiful Creatures,” “Freedom Writers,” and “The Last Five Years.” He hasn’t guided a production in a decade, but such professional distance doesn’t strengthen his helming instincts, finding his latest, “A Family Affair,” suffering from the same tonal and behavioral issues as his previous endeavors. LaGravenese is trying to replicate the Nancy Myers experience with the movie, putting easily overwhelmed characters in the middle of absolute luxury, asking viewers to care about shallow creations and their solvable problems. “A Family Affair” isn’t madcap enough to be a comedy, and there’s little heart to sell it as a drama. It remains in a zombified state with strange choices for conflict, limiting its entertainment value. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com