Much of the early discussion around The Drama has been focused on spoiler culture. The film's plot involves a revelation around twenty minutes in that critics have been asked not to mention - so don't go looking for it here.
That said, if critics hadn't been warned ahead of time, it's unlikely anyone would have considered it a spoiler. It's basically just what the movie is about, like trying to hide the fact that Star Wars takes place in a galaxy far, far away. What can be said at this stage is this: couple Charlie (Robert Patterson) and Emma (Zendaya) are hurtling towards their looming wedding when one of them reveals something that turns everything on its head.
It's the nature of what's revealed that's the big secret, which is a bit weird because as far as shocking revelations go it doesn't quite work. It's like writer / director Kristoffer Borgli tried to think of the most inflammatory thing he could (for a US audience at least) that was also politically neutral - it's something nobody on either side of that divided nation can support.
The thing is, the character (okay, its Emma) didn't actually go through with it, and it's fairly easy to imagine anyone hearing about it (it's revealed during a drunken session of "what's the worst thing you've ever done") just thinking that yeah, teens do tend to get a bit excessive, let's move on.
For the story to properly hang together, this reveal needs to be earth-shattering and basically unforgivable, the kind of thing that would change how you see someone forever. Instead, the revelation is a bit wobbly, something that needs to be sold to us over and over rather than hitting like a hammer.
Fortunately, much of this burden falls on Patterson, who is basically playing a Hugh Grant character from the 1990s. It's extremely plausible that he would obsess over even a minor revelation, so his gradual but growing commitment to the worst possible decisions - which drives a lot of the comedy here - works well.
He's not the only one obsessed, though Emma is largely focused on dredging up her past. Neither of them are in the right headspace heading into a big fancy wedding, and their constant stumbles over many of the decisions required only add to the growing sense of doom.
There's a long tradition of films where the selling point is the walk back to the car afterwards where couples get to ask "what would you do if that happened to us?". The question is as important as the resolution, and on that level, this succeeds - which again, is probably why critics have been asked not to reveal that side of things.
Aside from that, what's left? The romance is deftly established then slowly demolished, helped along by two likable (for the most part) performances. Weddings always make for great drama, and this takes full advantage.
As cringe comedies go, this isn't all that cringe-worthy. The big laughs come from comedy juxtapositions and oblivious outsiders; Charlie's slow-motion car-crash approach to messing things up never quite hits the high notes.
That's possibly because it's all in character for him: the movie begins with him retelling the story of how they met-cute, only it's based on him lying about having read a book then telling that lie into Emma's deaf ear, giving him a chance to get out but instead he doubles down (and later on, doubles down again).
This is just how he rolls, and Emma loves him anyway. A feel good - or at least, not an aggressively feel-bad - ending is all but guaranteed, no matter how badly things go wrong. How badly, you ask? When it comes to the central dilemma, it's safe to reveal this: it involves a gun.
- Anthony Morris
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