Sometimes you don’t need a miracle – you just need to take off the costume. Dramarama reminds us that growing up isn’t about getting older – it’s about daring to be honest, even when the truth feels too naked to say.
Dramarama (2020: The Last Party Before Everything Changes
There’s something hilariously tragic about saying goodbye when you’re not even old enough to rent a car. Dramarama (2020) throws us back to the mid-90s, when friendship bracelets were still a thing, closets weren’t just for clothes, and everyone thought faith could fix confusion.
Dramarama (2020) might look like a light gay themed movie, but beneath the laughs it hides the ache of growing up and the quiet courage of being different.
Five Christian teens gather for one last costume party before college, armed with cider, Shakespearean outfits, and teenage denial. It’s the kind of night where everyone’s pretending — some more than others.
Gene (Nick Pugliese) is the quiet kid with a secret, surrounded by loud friends who think they’ve figured life out. His best friend Rose is off to New York, the others have their plans, and Gene is stuck with questions no prayer can answer. Between the laughter and “Whose turn is it to pray?”, he starts to realize he might not believe in God — or maybe he just doesn’t believe in pretending anymore.
Faith, Friendship and the Closet
Director Jonathan Wysocki clearly knows this world too well. The film feels like it’s shot straight out of his teenage brain — awkward pauses, the cheap costumes, the pizza arriving right in the middle of a moral crisis. It’s funny, warm, and painfully true. Every conversation feels like an improvised confession. One minute they debate Dickens, the next they argue about heaven, then someone blurts out, “Maybe God doesn’t care at all?”
For Gene, this night becomes more than a party — it’s an emotional striptease. Between the costumes and Christian politeness, he’s suffocating in silence. His “coming out” isn’t loud or glittery. It’s a small, trembling sentence: “I don’t know if I believe in God anymore.” And that line, in this group, is almost as explosive as saying “I’m gay.”
Growing Up Means Letting Go
Dramarama isn’t about heroes, villains, or miracles. It’s about the in-between — the quiet ending of one version of yourself before the next begins. The performances are subtle, the humor gently pokes where it hurts, and the whole thing feels like a farewell letter to the 90s — and to innocence itself.
This gay themed movie doesn’t scream its message – it whispers it, with humor, warmth, and the kind of honesty that sticks longer than a sermon.
So yes, it’s a coming-of-age story, but one where the age is less about numbers and more about courage. The courage to admit you don’t have it all figured out, and that maybe that’s okay. Because sometimes, you don’t need a miracle — you just need to take off the costume.
