Although Zac Efron’s new Netflix comedy, A Family Affair, entered the Top 10 chart on Netflix, it didn’t break a disappointing 17-year-old trend for the actor. Headlined by Efron, the film boasts an impressive cast and a compelling premise. Efron plays a movie star who begins a relationship with his assistant’s mom, played by Nicole Kidman. The relationship goes through the standard rom-com beats of older woman/younger man romances: disapproving adult children, miscommunication about age, and the woman realizing she deserves happiness.

Efron’s role A Family Affair follows a string of noteworthy films the actor has been involved with as of late. Efron has proven himself to be a compelling leading man in the great wrestling movie The Iron Claw and has shown that he has excellent comedic timing in both Neighbors and Neighbors 2. His work in other genres, though, as evidenced again by A Family Affair, hasn’t been met with the same level of success.

Zac Efron Hasn’t Starred in a Critically Acclaimed Rom-Com Since 2007’s Hairspray

Efron’s Most Critically Successful Romantic Comedies Have Been Musicals

Efron would seem to be the ideal romantic-comedy lead. He’s charming and talented, and he typically exudes chemistry with his co-stars. Even so, Efron has only found success in romantic roles when they are in musicals. His breakout role was Troy in the High School Musical franchise. That series, and the central romance of Troy and Gabriella, is a definitive part of millennial pop culture. However, it does speak to the fact that Efron hasn’t had a critically successful rom-com since 2007’s Hairspray and one can argue that the success of that movie is because it is a beloved musical and not because of the romantic elements.

None of Efron’s other romantic comedies have cracked the 60% fresh threshold. However, this may not necessarily be Efron’s fault. While the romantic comedies he’s mostly chosen to do have had weak scripts, romantic comedies of the past 20 years have been fairly weak. The genre has only recently begun to see a rise in quality with films such as Crazy Rich Asians and Red, White, and Royal Blue. Zac Efron’s career has largely existed during a time when many critics believed the rom-com to be dead.

Why A Family Affair’s Rotten Tomatoes Score Is So Low (And How It Compares To Zac Efron’s Other Rom-Coms)

A Family Affair Is In-Line With His Other Critical Failures

A Family Affair suffers from a lack of focus. The movie could be a standard romantic comedy, but it shifts protagonists halfway through the movie. Joey King’s Zara is seemingly the film’s central protagonist until the film quickly switches to Nicole Kidman’s Brooke’s POV. The switch in perspective switches the film from a workplace comedy to a romantic comedy. Zac Efron switches from antagonistic boss to romantic lead. Efron and Kidman had undeniable chemistry, but it wasn’t enough to give the film a better Rotten Tomatoes score.

That said, A Family Affair is far from the lowest-rated film Efron has made. That honor belongs to New Year’s Eve, where Efron was just one minor character in a giant ensemble cast. While A Family Affair is not the pinnacle of Zac Efron’s career according to critics, it does seem to have connected with an audience on Netflix. Romantic comedies remain a tricky genre for the actor and that could be due to a number of factors including script choices, the changing genre, or the expectations of what a romantic lead should be. However, the rom-com is experiencing a resurgence. It is possible for Efron to still find his footing in the genre, or maybe he could release another musical romantic comedy.