The Drama and What’s Making Us Happy

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 remiss. So make sure to listen. And now onto the drama. In the dark comedy The Drama, Zindaya 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, they're loved for one another doesn't

seem all of 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 Alicia Harris, and today we're talking about the drama on Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR. Enjoying me today is Philadelphia Inquires, Arts and Entertainment Editor and Film Critic Badachary D. Chaudry. Hey Badachary. Hello, so glad to be here. So glad to have you. And also with us as journalists in host of the movie review podcast seated. Trayvelle Anderson. Welcome Trayvelle. Hello, hello, thanks for having me. So excited to have you both here. Oh my goodness. So

“the drama. Yeah. It's like what, what did the reaction do you have? Oh my goodness. What? What?”

Yeah, so the drama stars in Daya and Robert Pattinson as Emma and Charlie. They're just days before they're 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. Shocking. Yes. Yes. So disturbing that it changes how Charlie sees his soon to be wife and makes some question. Everything you thought he knew or brought 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 Mamadoo Acha in Alana Hayam as Mike and Rachel, the couple's best man and made of honor. Madrama is directed by Christopher Borgley and is in theaters now. And where recording us 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 Trayville, I'm going to start with you. What did you think of this? So yeah, this is one of those movies where the discourse might be the discourse to yeah. 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 Sunday, but I kind of stayed for Robert Pattinson. I think that that part. Yeah. It's 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. Yeah, the drama, the discourse like that is, it should be the drama coal in the discourse here. Yes, but I'll treat you. 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 to what I said. Again, like, I know we're 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. Yeah, I mean, I guess this is a three-way agreement here. I really enjoyed this movie in the moment, right? I think, first of all, I would highly suggest if you're going to 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 have never been

an RE-aster fan, but I feel like this movie is able to do a lot of what RE-aster tries to do with his movies, and I think it's a little bit more successful. Now, completely different subject battles, but similarly, that kind of black bleak comedy. And I think especially Robert Pattinson is really, really good in this because we see him turn into this person who's like his version of like who would have happened by a bout to marry. Like, you know, like Re-aster said, but like,

Robert Pattinson, you know? And I really enjoyed seeing him play that to the health. And so like, as a communal experience and hearing people react and hearing people laugh and hearing people just like,

like was mine unique, or did you also have that similar experience? No, very, very vocal audiences,

like, you know, laughing, who ain't 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, I think people should watch it”

with other people. Ideally, with someone you're planning a wedding with. Yeah, you know what's interesting about it is that because it is a dark comedy as you explain diesha, you know, there's some moments where you hear other people laughing and you're like,

but then I found myself being the only person laughing at a particular moment in my

theater. I mean, 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, but to see how they play with the comedy and the dark element of the comedy. I really liked it. It kept me kind of interested in what was coming next because the dark comedic moments were, you know,

they were a little, you wouldn't hear people normally say things like that. Yes, yeah. And I also think basing it within that context of planning a wedding brings in its inherent anxiety. 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 at, I quite enjoyed the storytelling. Yeah, I mean, I also really have to say, Mambeau Achei, and also a lot of high-end, but especially Mambeau Achei,

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 scrolls 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 Zinday's”

character than yes. Other people in the movie do and like are understanding. Oh my god, can we talk about it on a highman? How much I hated or would just say she did an excellent job. Yes, yes, she had understood. So I'm annoying. Yeah, there's a particular type of a 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 Zinday'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. 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? Yeah, well the movie plants that seed very early on because you watch the way they have

their quote unquote "me cute" which is actually, it's a little creepy. I would argue less,

less cute in 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 lore 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 done in Isle or will they won't they even get together kind of movie? It definitely will have

if you are in a long-term relationship with somebody. It definitely might have you ask yourself

“a few pregoontas okay about you know. I did ask my partner what's the worst thing he did after”

watching this film. So yes, Trevelle is absolutely. I have not asked mine but I'm thinking about it. Yeah well I I asked mine specifically what he would say if I answered the ways in dance it and his answer was very illuminating um but we're still together so it's fine. And I'm rooting for you. I'm

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 without getting into details but yeah up next what's making us happy this week.”

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 our 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 but that's where you hit us. Yes um so it says documentary called Nachez like Susanna Herbert. So this as the name suggests is it's a documentary based in the Don call Nachez in Mississippi.

I had no idea about this town but apparently the whole pool of this town is um all these

tours of really old houses and cottages that tourists stick and this is a Antibblum 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 you know we are in the”

middle of these times when you know people are actively trying to erase uh America's history of slavery so it's interesting to see this film uh 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're going to this is going to be at the center of our conversation around our history and then some people are just

plain old racist it's funny but not in a ha ha kind of way it 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 so that's nachez by Susanna Herbert and you can stream it on Apple TV prime video youtube tv video deep just about

“any very what's your friends awesome thank you so much that description covers sounds like the”

drama for being real uh happy subject amusing approach so thank you for that pediatry that sounds really fascinating. Trayville what is making you happy this week? 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 covert in 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 Rogers and Hammerstein Cinderella but the 1997 version starring Randy at Cinderella and Whitney Houston as the fairy godmother and it freaks it in a really interesting way that I particularly love. Don't you love it? Yes! You did not know that you needed

okay Cinderella over a ballroom house beat at a variety of meetings but you're welcome. Thank you, Mike and this my inner child is screaming right now I love this I had this maybe on VHS oh like in this I love it. Michael Dante is the DJ the song impossible it's possible this mix you can find it on Apple music. Awesome thank you so much Trayville. Oh that makes me sad. Well what is making me happy this week is the TV show age of attraction on Netflix. 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 in 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 heteropartner ships that kind of show. The point is that like they're like I'm so sick of dating people my own age and I just want to be more open and so they come together at this retreat and like love is mind 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 woo and so what can go wrong? This is where it gets a little kind of itgy and we are like 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 calves here are not small the ones who were featured ultimately”

following them outside of the retreat they the age gaps range from 15 years on the low end

233 at the most no hold on yes so you know I say let's just 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 not like age of attraction look I love my trash tv look

“and I say that's what's making me happy this week travel enters in and but that's where you”

teach Audrey thanks so much for being here I loved unpacking the drama with people with can't wait to unpack the spoilers with you next week thank you so much thank you so much this episode just produced by Liz Metskerhubsepathema Carly Rubin and Mike Katzif and edited by our showrunner Jessica Reedy hello come in provides our theme music and thank you for listening to pop what your happy hour from NPR if you're not already following the show do that right now I'm

Asia Harris and we'll see you all next week