Too many questions weren’t asked before Emma and Charlie got engaged.
When they spill plenty at an alcohol-fueled food-tasting night with friends, all hell breaks loose and “The Drama” becomes THE DRAMA you didn’t want to confront.
Zendaya plays the bride; Robert Pattinson plays the groom, and the two would be great in a rom-com that had a little less baggage to unpack.
Robert Pattinson, top, and Zendaya play an engaged couple in "The Drama."
When Emma reveals the worst thing she’s ever done, shoes drop and Charlie can’t quite enjoy the pre-wedding activities that follow. In engagement photos, he looks like a victim; Emma, meanwhile, can’t bear her friend (Alana Haim) telling others her secret.
Soon relationships crumble and writer/director Kristoffer Borgli has to figure out how he’s going to proceed with the wedding. He does so expertly but the question remains: Why would you do a film about such a shocking, and depressing, premise?
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Zendaya plays a bride-to-be with some baggage to unpack in "The Drama."
Zendaya does well in the role, even though a younger actress plays adolescent Emma and gets the most dramatic scenes. Pattinson gets to play all his discordant notes and handles them well. Still, you wonder why he doesn’t stall the wedding and confront the issue.
Instead, the vows take place and the toasts — the real tide turners — unfold. Borgli makes the most of them and lands an exit strategy that works. Here, Haim gets her best scenes — and a reason to build a film around her.
Robert Pattinson, left, and Zendaya play an engaged couple in "The Drama."
“The Drama,” however, isn’t sure if it’s a horror film or a relationship exploration. It’s difficult to watch in places and hardly the kind of cautionary tale you’d want from Zendaya or Pattinson.
If it succeeds at anything, it’s teaching couples to ask the hard questions before they start searching for a wedding deejay. Leaving this to chance is more than a relative should have to bear.
