The Drama and What’s Making Us Happy

In the dark comedy The Drama, Zendaya and Robert Pattinson are getting married, but maybe they shouldn’t? The stars play a couple in full-on prep mode for their upcoming wedding, though when a shocking secret is revealed, suddenly their love for one another doesn’t seem all that secure. Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/nprpopculture/letterboxd.com/nprpopculture http://letterboxd.com/nprpopculture See pcm.adswizz.com https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy

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• 0:00Speaker 00

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• 0:16Aisha Harris?

  Hey, you're listening to Pop Culture Happy Hour, the podcast that keeps you plugged in about the latest and greatest in movies, TV, music, and more. And if you're a pop culture junkie who's not following the show yet, you need to fix that right now by following Pop Culture Happy Hour on your favorite podcast app. And next week, we'll be checking into the pit and catching up with some great TV we missed. So make sure to listen. And now, on to the drama.

• 0:44Aisha Harris?

  In the dark comedy The Drama, Zendaya and Robert Pattinson are getting married. But maybe they shouldn't. The stars play a couple in full-on prep mode for their upcoming wedding, though when a shocking secret is revealed, suddenly their love for one another doesn't seem all that secure. It's a twisty, provocative movie that brings up a lot of questions like, how well do you know your partner? And can people fundamentally change who they are? Really? I'm Aisha Harris, and today we're talking about The Drama on Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR. And joining me today is Philadelphia Inquirer's arts and entertainment editor and film critic, Badhatri D. Chaudhary. Hey, Badhatri.

• 1:22Speaker 02

  Hello. So glad to be here.

• 1:24Aisha Harris?

  So glad to have you. And also with us is journalist and host of the movie review podcast Seated, Travell Anderson. Welcome, Travell.

• 1:31Speaker 03

  Hello, hello. Thanks for having me.

• 1:34Aisha Harris?

  So excited to have you both here. Oh, my goodness. So, The Drama. Yeah. It's like, what? What are the reactions you have? Oh, my goodness. What? What? Yeah, so The Drama stars Zendaya and Robert Pattinson as Emma and Charlie. They're just days before their wedding when a conversation with friends leads to an intimate question. What's the worst thing you've ever done? Emma's answer is, to put it quite frankly, pretty disturbing.

• 2:03Speaker 02

  Shocking.

• 2:04Aisha Harris?

  Yes, yes. So disturbing that it changes how Charlie sees his soon to be wife and makes him question everything he thought he knew about her. We're going to talk about that disturbing thing in a spoiler packed episode on Monday. For now, we're sharing our gentle impressions of the movie here on this episode. Now, the cast also includes Mamadou Aceh and Alana Hayam as Mike and Rachel, the couple's best man and maid of honor. The drama is directed by Christopher Borgli and is in theaters now. And we're recording this on Wednesday morning. We've had like a day to sit with this movie. I think you might already be able to tell that we're still, we're still processing it. But Travell, I'm going to start with you. What did you think of this?

• 2:46Speaker 03

  So yeah, this is one of those movies where the discourse might be...

• 2:52Speaker 02

  The discourse TM.

• 2:53Aisha Harris?

  Trademark.

• 2:53Speaker 03

  Yeah, might be more interesting than what we actually saw on screen. Now, I enjoyed the movie. It has a number of twists and turns that I wasn't expecting. I'm one of those people that, you know, I came for Zendaya, but I kind of stayed for Robert Pattinson, I think.

• 3:11Aisha Harris?

  That, that part, yeah.

• 3:12Speaker 03

  And so lots of feelings, lots of thoughts, but overall, I was like, okay, worth my time. And I think it'd be worth folks' time as well.

• 3:21Aisha Harris?

  Yeah. The drama, the discourse, like that is, it should be the drama, colon, the discourse here. Yes. But Atrey, how about you?

• 3:30Speaker 02

  You know, I was thinking about this question, obviously, and I've been sitting with this film for a day. And I have been deeply unsettled by this film, and not in a good way. And I think that is what the film sets out to do. So within that context, I think this film is very effective in putting forth the discourse, as Travell said. Again, like, I know we're like going ahead of ourselves, but more than what's on the screen, I think everything that it talks about and makes us think. It's an interesting film.

• 4:02Aisha Harris?

  Yeah, I mean, I guess this is a three way agreement here.

• 4:08Aisha Harris?

  I really enjoyed this movie in the moment, right? I think, first of all, I would highly suggest if you're gonna see this film, try and see it in a theater. Our theater was quite lively, which is like a weird thing to say about a movie that gets so dark. But I do think overall, this movie kind of handles the bleakness with the comedy in a really interesting way. I I've never been an Ari Aster fan, but I feel like this movie is able to do a lot of what Ari Aster tries to do with his movies, and I think it's a little bit more successful. Now, completely different subject matters, but similarly like that kind of black bleak comedy.

• 4:50Aisha Harris?

  And I think especially Robert Pattinson is really, really good in this because

• 4:54Speaker 02

  Oh, my gosh.

• 4:55Aisha Harris?

  we see him turn into this person who's like, his version of like, who the F am I about to marry? Like, you know, like Risa Tisa, but like Robert Pattinson, you know? And

• 5:08Aisha Harris?

  and I really enjoyed seeing him play that to the hilt. And so like, as a communal experience and hearing people react and hearing people laugh and hearing people just like, huh, like gasp, like this is what we go to the movies for. I'm curious, like, what were your audiences like? Was was mine unique or did you also have that similar experience?

• 5:27Speaker 02

  No, very, very vocal audiences, like, you know, laughing, booing, sometimes clapping. You know, you can see the confusion that we're talking about and the gradual, the way this film gradually descends into this like weird, anxious, unsettling territory. I think, and you're right, Aisha, I think people should watch it with other people. Ideally with someone you're planning a wedding with. That would be great.

• 5:57Aisha Harris?

  Oh, man, but I

• 5:58Speaker 03

  Be careful.

• 5:59Aisha Harris?

  You just want chaos. You want chaos.

• 6:01Speaker 02

  I'm here for the chaos and the drama.

• 6:04Aisha Harris?

  All the mess, yeah.

• 6:05Speaker 03

  Yeah, you know what's interesting about it is that because it is a dark comedy, as you explained, Aisha, you know, there's some Some moments where you hear other people laughing and you're like, "Ooh." But then I found myself being the only person laughing at a particular moment in my theater. And so it really adds to the viewing experience if you can, you know, be with other people who you don't know, who are going to process and, you know, come to the film with, with their own lived experience and their own, you know, takes and feelings on certain things. Um, but to see how they play with the comedy and the dark element of the comedy.

• 6:48Speaker 03

  I really liked it. It kept me kind of interested in what was coming next. Um, because the dark comedic moments were, you know, they were a little, you wouldn't hear people normally say things like that.

• 7:02Aisha Harris?

  Yes, yes, yeah.

• 7:04Speaker 02

  And I also think basing it within that context of planning a wedding brings in its inherent anxiety.

• 7:11Aisha Harris?

  Yeah.

• 7:12Speaker 02

  It's an anxious process anyway, and then you're introducing like, brand new information about people who you're supposed to spend the rest of your life with. I quite enjoyed the storytelling.

• 7:23Aisha Harris?

  Yeah. I mean, I also really have to say, Mamadou Aceh, and also Alana Hyam, but especially Mamadou Aceh. He's one of those actors who, every time I see him pop up, and he's usually playing this kind of role, like a side character, a best friend, or just like a smaller character. This might be one of the best sort of media roles I've seen him take on so far. And I really, really loved being able to see him have fun with the dialogue and have fun with like, just being that person who's trying to be there for his friend, but also like, has a little bit of more empathy, I think, for Zendaya's character than

• 8:04Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 8:05Aisha Harris?

  other people in the movie do, and like, or understanding.

• 8:08Speaker 02

  Oh my God, can we talk about Alana Hyam and how much I hated her? Which is to say she did an excellent job.

• 8:15Aisha Harris?

  Yes, yes.

• 8:16Speaker 02

  My God, I was so annoying.

• 8:21Aisha Harris?

  Yeah, there's a particular type of of person and a particular type of woman, and dare I say, white woman, that a lot of high end is playing in this movie in comparison to Zendaya's character. And it's subtle, and that kind of gets into more of my quibbles with this movie, but we will get into that with the spoilers. But like, even just having it there to sort of see and read between the lines, I liked that aspect of the film. This movie is super tense. It's just a very, it's a very disquieting movie.

• 8:56Speaker 02

  At one point, you're like, well, should I be rooting for this wedding to happen despite all odds? Or do these people have no business being together?

• 9:07Aisha Harris?

  Yeah, well, it, it, the movie plants that seed very early on because you watch the way they have this quote unquote meet cute, which is actually, I would argue, less, less cute and a little more creepy or like embarrassing for him. I'm just saying. And you're always wondering, like, I don't know. And, you know, that's also part of the drama, I think. It's part of the allure and part of what we're seeing is like, do these people actually belong together? But then that's also like so many movies. I think a lot of movies don't necessarily question that in the way this movie does, which I think makes this far more intriguing than your average, will they, won't they make it down the aisle? Or will they, won't they even get together kind of movie?

• 9:47Speaker 03

  It definitely will have, if you are in a, a long-term relationship with somebody, it, it definitely might have you asking yourself a few preguntas, okay? About, you know?

• 10:00Speaker 02

  I did ask my partner what's the worst thing he did after watching this film. So, yes, Travell is absolutely.

• 10:08Speaker 03

  I have not asked mine, but I'm thinking about it.

• 10:10Aisha Harris?

  Yeah, well, I, I asked mine specifically what he would say if I answered the ways Zendaya did. And his answer was very illuminating. Um, but we're still together, so it's fine.

• 10:23Speaker 02

  And I'm rooting for you, Aisha, unlike in this film.

• 10:26Aisha Harris?

  Yeah, well, I mean, I think we've kind of danced around it. Look out for a spoiler-filled episode with the three of us in your feeds next week. Well, I'm proud of us that we were able to talk about this without

• 10:40Aisha Harris?

  without getting into the details. But yeah, up next, what's making us happy this week?

• 10:46Speaker 00

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• 11:15Speaker 04

  This week on the NPR Politics Podcast, the midterm elections are wrapping up, and millions of people have already voted. We're taking one final check of the electoral pulse with a new NPR PBS News Marist Poll. It shows Democrats still poised to make gains, but also with some warning signs for just how many. We'll explain on the NPR Politics Podcast.

• 11:39Speaker 05

  Oh, Kevin, it feels good to be back. It sure does, Casey. And what a time. The world is talking about AI and what's going on in Silicon Valley. And we are here with a new show to tell you all about it. That's right, Kevin. On our new show, Machine Gods, twice a week, we'll be bringing you the biggest news in tech and bring you unmatched access to the real titans of this industry. You can find Machine Gods from NPR on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 12:03Aisha Harris?

  Welcome back. A reminder, if you're not following our show yet, hit that follow button on your preferred podcast app and stay plugged in on all things Pop Culture Happy Hour adjacent, including What's Making Us Happy every week. Which brings me to What's Making Us Happy. I'm going to start with you, Badhatri. Hit us.

• 12:20Speaker 02

  Yes, so it's this documentary called Naches by Susanna Herbert. So this, as the name suggests, is it's a documentary based in the town called Naches in Mississippi. I had no idea about this town, but apparently the whole pull of this town is um all these tours of really old houses and cottages that tourists take. And this is a antebellum tourist attraction. So all these houses, mansions have very dark histories. Mostly all of them were slave owners. And I thought this would be a very heavy film. But it's funny, sometimes hilarious.

• 13:01Speaker 02

  You know, we are in the middle of these times when, you know, people are actively trying to erase America's history of slavery. So it's interesting to see this film grapple with that, that what do we do with the past like that? And some people just give into the nostalgia of it without delving into the complications of it. And then there are people who really focus on the past and say, no, we are gonna, this is going to be at the center of our conversation around our history. And then some people are just plain old racists. It's funny, but not in a haha kind of way. Kind of makes you think about the ways in which we honor our history and what is there to honor in our history, if at all.

• 13:43Speaker 02

  So that's Notchairs by Susanna Herbert, and you can stream it on Apple TV, Prime Video, YouTube TV, VOD, just about anywhere you watch your films.

• 13:52Aisha Harris?

  Awesome. Thank you so much. That descriptor kind of sounds like the Java for being real.

• 13:55Speaker 02

  Yes, yes.

• 13:57Aisha Harris?

  Heavy subject, amusing approach. So thank you for that, Padhatri. That sounds really fascinating. Tray Bell, what is making you happy this week?

• 14:04Speaker 03

  All right. What's making me happy this week? Um, I know the PCHH audience is very learned, so I was going to come with a book recommendation, which was Brandy's new memoir that she recently released, co-written by journalist Garrett Kennedy. And then, in preparation for this show, because the Lord works in mysterious ways, a friend sent me a music track. That is also connected to Brandy in an interesting way, and it did indeed make me happy. And so I know it will do the same for y'all. This is a mix from DJ Michael Dante and Black House Radio that takes "Impossible," the song from Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella,

• 14:48Speaker 03

  but the 1997 version starring Brandy as Cinderella and Whitney Houston as the fairy godmother. And it freaks it in a really interesting way that I particularly love.

• 15:10Speaker 06

  Oh, my God.

• 15:12Speaker 03

  Don't you love it?

• 15:13Speaker 06

  Yes.

• 15:14Speaker 03

  You did not know that you needed, okay, Cinderella over a ballroom house beat by any means, but you're welcome.

• 15:22Speaker 06

  Thank you.

• 15:23Aisha Harris?

  Oh, my goodness. My inner child is screaming right now. I love this. I had this movie on BHS. Oh, my goodness. I love it.

• 15:33Speaker 03

  Michael Dante is the DJ. The song "Impossible," "It's Possible," this mix, you can find it on Apple Music.

• 15:40Aisha Harris?

  Awesome. Thank you so much, Javel. Oh, that makes me so happy. Well, what is making me happy this week is the TV show "Age of Attraction" on Netflix. Have you all heard about this? Have you heard about this show? If you know me at all, you know that I love my dating reality shows, no matter how trashy, how silly, how just out of control they are. This one is actually a little more like reserved and tamed and like kind of sweet in a way that I was not expecting. The premise basically is that singles come together at a retreat to connect with other singles of the opposite sex. As far as I can tell, at least in the first season, this was like basically just all hetero partnerships, that kind of show. The point is that like they're like, I'm so sick of dating people

• 16:25Aisha Harris?

  my own age and I just want to be more open. And so they come together at this retreat and like Love is Blind, you can talk to them, but you don't know what they look like. You can't see them. This one, you can see them and you can talk to them and you can ask them everything except how old they are. And so

• 16:41Speaker 06

  What can go wrong?

• 16:43Aisha Harris?

  Yeah. Mm hmm. This is where it gets a little kind of icky and weird. Like, they can go to the promise room. They call it the promise room and then reveal their ages. And then they go out into the real world. If they decide that they're going to continue trying to date each other. Chaos ensues, things happen. The same stuff that happens on all those other shows. Like, they meet the families, friends, so they try to live together, whatever. But, you know, unlike Love is Blind, marriage isn't the end goal. It's just, you know, can we be in a relationship? Can our can our relationship transcend our age difference? And the age gaps here are not small. The ones who were featured ultimately, following them outside of the retreat,

• 17:23Aisha Harris?

  they the age gaps range from 15 years on the low end to 33 at the most.

• 17:30Speaker 03

  Now, hold on.

• 17:31Aisha Harris?

  Ooh, yes. So, you know, I say all this to say, like, you watch the show. It is a little bit more balanced than you might expect. And I do think it is a dating show that has better intentions, at least on the surface, than other shows do. So, yeah, if you're looking for a new dating reality show, it's Netflix's Age of Attraction. Look, I love my trash TV, what can I say? That's what's making me happy this week. Trayvon Anderson and Padhatri T. Chaudhary, thanks so much for being here. I loved unpacking the drama with you both. Can't wait to unpack the spoilers with you next week.

• 18:07Speaker 02

  Thank you, Ayesha.

• 18:08Aisha Harris?

  Same, thank you so much. Yeah. This episode was produced by Liz Medsker, Hafsa Pathima, Carly Rubin, and Mike Katzif, and edited by our showrunner, Jessica Reedy. Hello, Kim provides our theme music. And thank you for listening to Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR. If you're not already following the show, do that right now. I'm Aisha Harris, and we'll see you all next week.

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• 18:59Speaker 07

  American journalist Austin Tice vanished in Syria over a decade ago. For years, we've been searching for him. And now, we finally have some answers.

• 19:10Speaker 00

  This is the prison that Austin was in.

• 19:12Speaker 05

  Oh my god. We've found Austin's file.

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  Listen to Where Is Austin Tice? From NPR's Embedded and BBC Radio 4, on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.