Chosen Family review – fluid directing by Heather Graham ballasts enjoyable romcom
For younger readers not well versed in last-century cinema, Heather Graham was one of the hottest ingenues in Hollywood throughout the 1990s; her greatest performance was arguably as Rollergirl in Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights. Recently, she's taken up writer-director duties (she made her debut in 2018 with a comedy called Half Magic) while continuing to star as well, and this sophomore effort impresses with its mildly acidic observations of contemporary mores. There aren't exactly belly laughs in this tale of single yoga instructor Ann (Graham), but quite a few of zingers and bits that stick the landing nicely thanks to fluent direction and good comic timing from Graham and her excellent supporting cast, which is filled out by cracking actors who might not often be given as much spotlight as they get here.
That's entirely fitting given that the plot, as the title might suggest, is all about the greater value of the friends and loved ones you make throughout life as opposed to the toxic monsters you're saddled with at birth. In Ann's case, that pretty much goes for her whole nuclear family, from zealous Christian wingnut dad (Michael Gross) and narcissistic mom (Julie Halston) to her admittedly damaged but still totally vile sister Clio (Julia Stiles, having fun sinking her teeth into the role). Graham's script perhaps makes Ann just a bit too nice and a co-dependent martyr to these nightmare people.
However the plot moves along when a video of her letting off steam and denouncing all of her relatives in an angry rant (while wearing a bikini) goes viral, thereby boosting business. Meanwhile, she's got charming buddies, including sharp-tongued Roz (Andrea Savage), chef Max (Thomas Lennon) and polyglot Frances (Odessa Rae) who are close enough friends they don't mind telling her the truth when necessary. The fizzy group chemistry is palpable every time the gang gets together on screen.
That honesty is sorely needed when Ann starts dating Steve (John Brotherton), a lovely bloke who's kind, mostly stable, and great in bed. The 'but' comes in the shape of his preteen daughter Lilly (Ella Grace Helton, tremendous), a spoiled, manipulative psychopath in a ballet school tutu who feels threatened by Steve loving anyone apart from her. While contemporary narrative grammar might lead viewers to expect fireworks from the ending, it is instead a little anti-climactic – but all the more realistic for that. It results in a film that feels like the product of lots of therapy, meditation and – judging by Graham's still impressively svelte physique – lashings of yoga. Good for her, she deserves a bit of success after all the dross she had to do for the money over the years.
Chosen Family is on digital platforms from 21 April
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