Reviews Lifestyle The New Sober Boom Getting Hooked on Quitting Education Liberal Arts Cuts Are Dangerous Is College Necessary? Finance Dying Parents Costing Millennials Dear Gen Z Investing In Le Creuset Crypto Investing SEC vs Celebrity Crypto Promoters ‘Dark’ Personalities Drawn to BTC

Lifestyle The New Sober Boom Getting Hooked on Quitting

Getting Hooked on Quitting

Education Liberal Arts Cuts Are Dangerous Is College Necessary?

Liberal Arts Cuts Are Dangerous

Is College Necessary?

Finance Dying Parents Costing Millennials Dear Gen Z Investing In Le Creuset

Dying Parents Costing Millennials Dear

Gen Z Investing In Le Creuset

Crypto Investing SEC vs Celebrity Crypto Promoters ‘Dark’ Personalities Drawn to BTC

Investing SEC vs Celebrity Crypto Promoters ‘Dark’ Personalities Drawn to BTC

SEC vs Celebrity Crypto Promoters

‘Dark’ Personalities Drawn to BTC

Reviews Lifestyle The New Sober Boom Getting Hooked on Quitting Education Liberal Arts Cuts Are Dangerous Is College Necessary? Finance Dying Parents Costing Millennials Dear Gen Z Investing In Le Creuset Crypto Investing SEC vs Celebrity Crypto Promoters ‘Dark’ Personalities Drawn to BTC

Lifestyle The New Sober Boom Getting Hooked on Quitting

Getting Hooked on Quitting

Education Liberal Arts Cuts Are Dangerous Is College Necessary?

Liberal Arts Cuts Are Dangerous

Is College Necessary?

Finance Dying Parents Costing Millennials Dear Gen Z Investing In Le Creuset

Dying Parents Costing Millennials Dear

Gen Z Investing In Le Creuset

Crypto Investing SEC vs Celebrity Crypto Promoters ‘Dark’ Personalities Drawn to BTC

Investing SEC vs Celebrity Crypto Promoters ‘Dark’ Personalities Drawn to BTC

SEC vs Celebrity Crypto Promoters

‘Dark’ Personalities Drawn to BTC

Movies should make us uncomfortable

"The Drama" opened to box office success and ample controversy, but the film is far more than its discourse

Published April 9, 2026 12:00PM (EDT)

A dark comedy is only as successful as its bleakest jokes. Exploitation is not inherently funny, and there’s a vast difference between a movie that earns your laughter and one that expects a certain reaction. For a film to be funny without losing its edge — or worse, feeling intentionally edgy — a punchline has to be both smart and unexpected. The audience should be taken by surprise and realize, in the middle of their laughter, just how truly clever the joke is, causing them to laugh even harder.

There’s one such joke in “The Drama” I can’t stop thinking about, a perfectly timed and shrewdly written gag that has made me laugh out loud every time I’ve thought about it over the last 10 days. Like the film’s central narrative diversion, it occurs early in the movie, but could be considered a spoiler for those still trying to avoid pivotal details before seeing the film themselves. (If that’s you, bookmark this for later.)

After a few too many glasses of wine while approving the catering selections for their upcoming wedding, bride-to-be Emma (Zendaya) reveals a troubling secret to her fiancé, Charlie (Robert Pattinson), and their friends, Rachel (Alana Haim) and Mike (Mamoudou Athie). Until this moment, both the audience and the characters in the film understand Emma to be a funny, easygoing young woman. That’s why it comes as a major shock when she admits to everyone around the table that, as a teenager, Emma planned a school shooting, going so far as to practice with a rifle and bring the weapon to school before deciding against it. The confession results in confusion and anger erupting like molten lava from all sides, instantly corroding Emma’s bond with Charlie and her relationships with their friends. The next day, Charlie and Emma........

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