Official Trailer
Rating: 6.9/10 | Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama | Runtime: 105 min
Starring: Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Mamoudou Athie, Alana Haim, Jordyn Curet
So I just watched “The Drama” and honestly, it’s exactly what the title promises. Not in a bad way necessarily, but this movie knows what it is and leans all the way into it.
The setup is simple. Zendaya and Robert Pattinson play an engaged couple who are supposed to get married in a week. Everything’s going fine until something unexpected happens that basically blows up their whole world. I’m not going to spoil what it is, but let’s just say it’s the kind of thing that makes you question everything about your relationship.
Zendaya carries most of the movie and honestly she’s great in it. There’s this scene midway through where she’s just sitting alone in a hotel room processing everything, and you can see her character completely falling apart without her saying much of anything. It’s one of the better scenes in the film. Pattinson is fine but he feels like he’s coasting a bit. The movie doesn’t give him a ton to do in the second half, which is probably intentional since this is really Zendaya’s story.
The comedy bits work sometimes and completely miss other times. There’s a subplot involving Mamoudou Athie’s character that’s supposed to be funny but mostly just feels like it’s padding the runtime. Alana Haim shows up as a wedding planner and she’s actually pretty funny when the script lets her be. Jordyn Curet is there too but doesn’t have much of a role.
Pacing wise, this thing drags in the middle. The runtime is only 105 minutes but it feels longer. There are stretches where nothing really happens except the characters talking in circles about the same problems. I get that that’s kind of the point of a drama, but you can still make that interesting. This movie doesn’t always manage it.
The ending is the thing that’ll probably get people talking. It doesn’t go where you might expect it to go. Some people will like that. Some people will think it’s a cop out. I’m somewhere in the middle. It feels honest to the characters but also a little too neat for what the movie was building toward.
The score is pretty forgettable and there’s nothing special about the cinematography. It looks like a nice looking TV movie. Which I guess is fine for what it is.
Look, “The Drama” isn’t bad. It’s competent. It has some solid performances and a few moments that actually land. But it’s also kind of forgettable. I’ll probably never think about this movie again in a few weeks. It’s the kind of thing that’s perfect for a lazy Sunday but not something you need to go out of your way for.
The Verdict
If you like romantic comedies with some dramatic weight and you’re not expecting anything groundbreaking, you’ll probably enjoy this fine enough. Just don’t expect it to stick with you. It’s a decent way to spend two hours but nothing more.
Did you see it? What did you think of how they handled the ending?
Where to Watch
Rent on: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex, Sky Store, CosmoGo, JustWatch TV