For her second feature film, Heather Graham writes, directs and stars in Chosen Family. It’s an odd romantic comedy that tonally is a little all over the place, thanks to an overstuffed plot and a lot of characters. It’s thankfully saved by Graham herself and some of the supporting cast, who can make this into a somewhat enjoyable and just under 90 minutes long rom-com.

Graham plays Ann, who is a yoga instructor who is struggling to get people to sign up for her classes, yet somehow still has a beautiful waterfront home and an ever-changing wardrobe. Her family is an elcetric bunch, her sister Clio (Julia Stiles) is a drug addict who holds a grudge against Ann for somethin that happened in their childhood, her father (Michael Gross) is a church-lover trying to set up his oldest daughter with the ‘virgin that attends church,’ and her mother is having a late-life crisis about making music and put everything on Ann for not caring about her family enough. Ann’s close-knit friend group of Max (Thomas Lennon), Roz (Andrea Savage) and Frances (Odessa Rae), where she finds solace. From the outset of the film, it’s obvious who she feels closest to, and given the film’s title, it’s obvious what the message will be by the time the credits roll.

Ann has had many problems locking in a long-term relationship, but she meets Steve (John Brotherton), a contractor going through a divorce who seems like he could be the one. He listens, he cooks, and he is supportive of Ann and her odd family dynamics. The only problem is that Steve has a daughter stuck between an abusive split between parents that’s feeding into her through misinformation and trash talk.

For a rom-com that’s shy of 90 minutes with credits, Chosen Family has far too many plot beats to do justice to them all. Ann’s love life leads, but then there’s her yogo studio, which kicks off into success when she accidentalty posts a rant while wearing a bikini to social media; her friend group and their recent business venture; her mothers pushing to get help with her crappy music, and at the pointy end of it all a drug addicted sister with an abbusive past, which does leave the ending feeling rather superflicious, as most people wouldn’t be able to pick their ‘Chosen Family,’ and push so many things into a box as Ann does.

(Screener provided to Explosion Network.
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