Sumith Prasad
Netflix’s romantic comedy film ‘A Family Affair’ revolves around Chris Cole, a Hollywood superstar who gained an outrageous fandom through ‘Icarus Rush,’ a franchise that consists of three action movies with plans for many more. Chris meets and gets closer to Brooke Harwood while gearing up for the production of the third installment in the film series. Along with the heart of his personal assistant’s mother, the actor eventually conquers the challenges the film presents. When it comes to real life, ‘Icarus Rush’ doesn’t exist. However, Carrie Solomon, who wrote the romantic comedy, uses the fictional franchise to give subtle insights concerning Chris’ personality!
The Significance of Icarus Rush
Even though ‘Icarus Rush’ is fictional, it is an integral part of Chris Cole’s tale as it acts as a beacon that attracts the viewers to his personality’s nuances. Despite being an immense Hollywood star who can steer his career on his terms, Chris is bound to the franchise he doesn’t enjoy producing. Even though he cherishes humongous stardom, deep down, he can be clueless about making life-changing decisions. Throughout the film, he expresses his dissatisfaction regarding the franchise and even hints at his intention to depart from the same. However, he avoids making such an influential decision by planning more installments of the movie series.
This near-hidden dimension of Chris is a pivotal part of his relationship with Brooke Harwood. When the Hollywood sensation is with the writer, we don’t feel they don’t belong together because they share certain vulnerabilities. While Chris navigates his career through the choices he didn’t want to make, Brooke is stuck with her writer’s block after the death of her husband, Charlie. Since Chris is in a highly intricate position in his career, he is able to appreciate Brooke’s presence and emotional support immensely, which can also be the reason why he prioritizes her after running away from commitments for a long period.
Chris’ commitment to the franchise can even be measured by his unfamiliarity with Icarus, his protagonist’s namesake. He realizes that a renowned myth serves as the foundation of the films’ narratives only after meeting Brooke.
Icarus Rush and Real-Life Parallels
Although ‘Icarus Rush’ does not have exact real-life counterparts, there are several characteristics that can be paralleled with actual movies. The snowcapped filming location of the third installment reminds us of Hollywood blockbusters’ obsession with Scandinavian locales as their setting. Some of the notable examples include installments in the ‘Mission: Impossible’ and ‘James Bond’ film series, two of the highly successful franchises of all time. Furthermore, actors getting reluctant to play the same character for a franchise’s success is a common occurrence in Hollywood.
John Boyega walked away from the ‘Star Wars’ universe upon announcing that he was not “into playing one role for too long.” Michael Keaton decided against wearing Batman’s cape after two successful outings. Orlando Bloom, after being an unignorable part of the success of the first three ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ movies, left the franchise ahead of the fourth installment. These examples show that Chris’ hesitancy has roots in reality, even though his franchise doesn’t have many.
Read More: A Family Affair: All Filming Locations of the Netflix Movie
