You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family. That's how the adage always went, at least until we started to expand our definition of family. Yes, the notion of a chosen clan is ever-growing in popularity, and it's being explored on the big screen in a variety of ways. There are darker explorations like the Jesse Eisenberg film Manodrome from earlier this year, and now, on a much lighter note, there's the quite obviously titled Chosen Family, a passion project from the always charming Heather Graham (who writes, directs, and stars in the film).
The last time we spoke to Graham, she was playing a gritty Western character trying to protect her daughter (in the film Place of Bones). This time around, her character Ann is trying in vain to connect with someone else's daughter, giving Chosen Family an uncomfortable comedic end result that might give certain millennials and Gen X'ers PTSD based on their own past family woes. That's the power of cinema, baby!
Hot Yoga, Hot Mess
Ann, a yoga teacher struggling with family chaos and a miserable dating life, falls for Steve, a divorced dad. However, his 7-year-old daughter, Lily, grows jealous and competitive, leading to a tense battle between Ann and Lily, with Steve unaware of his daughter's misbehavior.
- Release Date
- October 11, 2024
- Runtime
- 88 Minutes
- Main Genre
- Romantic Comedy
- Distributor(s)
- Brainstorm Media
- Heather Graham is reliably magnetic, and it's clear that she cares about this film, delivering a good script and solid direction.
- Julia Stiles and Thomas Lennon are excellent, though underused.
- The ending is a delightful surprise.
- The seven-year-old character is so obnoxiously awful and consumes so much time that it's often hard to watch.
- The main plot bounces along a bit too formulaically.
Graham has put together a charming little script that welcomes reliably fun familiar faces in its fine supporting cast, especially Thomas Lennon (Reno 911!) as Ann's pal, Max. Her little posse also includes friends Frances (Odessa Rae) and Roz (Andrea Savage), who put their heads together to get Ann a match made in heaven following a string of bad dates and failed relationships. It's saying something when a professional yoga instructor can't find inner peace, but it certainly doesn't help that Ann's immediate family — led by her eccentric aspiring-singer mom Dorothy (Julie Halston) — is close by to keep her on her toes at all times, in the worst possible ways.
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Ann needs to learn boundaries (don't we all?) while also keeping a close eye on her sister Clio (Julia Stiles), a recovering drug user who's perpetually on the verge of another relapse. Oof. Graham occupies most of the screen time as Ann here, which is just fine, but the moments where she butts heads with Clio are some of the strongest in the film's tight 87-minute runtime.
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When you hear Julia Stiles' name, your potentially millennial mind might transport you 25 years to the past to her no-B.S. performance in the timeless comedy 10 Things I Hate About You (RIP, Heath Ledger). When you see the type of character she nails in Chosen Family, her latest comedy, it will all make sense — but you might be begging for more of her character (and Thomas Lennon's).
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All these years later, it seems neither Stiles nor Graham have really aged, and they've only become better actors, so knowing that Graham plays a single yoga instructor in her latest feature might drive a certain chunk of the population wild. Graham even strips down to a bikini on multiple occasions to post vlog updates for her character's online fanbase, which feels like a meta commentary. It's her passion to get Chosen Family made, though, that's arguably the biggest reason for you to fall in love with her all over again.
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Single Ann is ultimately set up with divorced dad Steve (Fuller House alum John Brotherton), an instantly charming lad who immediately begs the viewer's question: Who could possibly divorce this handsome keeper? Maybe he's the one who did the dumping, or maybe it's the child he shares with his ex who perhaps indirectly caused permanent rifts over the years. Sure, it's inappropriate to blame the kids — but have you met seven-year-old Lilly?
Played by rising star Ella Grace Helton, she is something else, to put it mildly — and seems to consume the rest of the movie whole once she struts onto screen with those childishly black eyes of mass destruction. A whole essay could be written about what Lilly represents in Chosen Family, and what kind of psychosis she might have. Lilly seemingly wants her dad for herself, so sabotages his relationship. She starts embarrassing poor Steve in front of Ann and her posse about his financial instability and how his ex uses Lilly to get back at Steve in divorce court. Be prepared to watch said sequences through shielded and wincing eyes.
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Sure, there's the "hey, she's just a kid" argument, but at a certain point, you might need a breather from it all. This is a viciously obnoxious character who runs her mouth without any regard for others' feelings, maintaining a perpetual attitude of "Ask me if I give a f*ck." Luckily, Ann's pals are there to save her from the madness, and the star power of Graham, Stiles, and Lennon compensates for Lilly.
The rather formulaic way in which the A-story bounces along is made up for by a pleasantly surprising and funny ending on Graham's part. You go, girl! This small-scale production can be a hoot at times and strikes enough of a nerve to remind us of the importance of boundaries in this 21st century life. From Brainstorm Media, Chosen Family is now playing in theaters and available on digital platforms like YouTube, Google Play, Fandango at Home, and on Apple TV through the link below:
Watch Chosen Family
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