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Zendaya: "The Drama"

 This is a polarizing film--and let me start by saying my enthusiasm was less than that of my husband.


That said, I still half-liked the movie. Life is really absurd. However serious your choice of subject, you still have to contend with the fact that life is absurd. Is this true even in a world where mass shootings occur? Yes, it's still true.

In her teens, Emma Harwood decides that she is so unhappy, she wants to murder several of her classmates. She chooses to film a self-important statement of intention: "I'll bet you want to know why I did it...." But, as she struggles with her phone camera, the battery keeps dying--and she finally gives up on the filming session. On the day of the planned attack, *another* shooting occurs at a nearby mall. This doesn't fit into Emma's narrative--she feels upstaged--and so she abandons her mission and becomes an anti-gun activist.

Years later, when Emma's fiance Charlie learns all of this information, he has a meltdown. He casually asks a colleague about the worst thing she has ever done. Then, eager for more information, he says, "What if your boyfriend revealed that he once planned a school shooting? Just--hypothetically? What would you do?"

Charlie's narcissistic friend Rachel (a wonderful Alaina Haim) is especially offended by Emma's confession. Rachel has a cousin who was once wounded in a shooting--and, though this cousin has nothing to do with Charlie and Emma, Rachel feels that she must solicit the cousin's "permission" to attend Emma's wedding. Charlie finds the cousin and orchestrates a "meet cute" on a sidewalk. "So....you're Rachel's family? What does that mean, exactly? I mean, what is that word? Family?"

It's inexcusable that the film uses Emma as a prop and shows very little interest in her interior history. A tougher actor would have demanded revisions. I can't imagine Meryl Streep accepting this role.

And yet--three cheers for a bold effort. It's difficult to feel bored during this movie.
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