“The Disaster Artist” is the newest James Franco movie, based on the book of the same name. It tells the story of how infamous filmmaker Tommy Wiseau met actor Greg Sestero and made one of the worst movies of all time. “The Room” was a movie released in 2003 which was directed, written and produced exclusively by the mysterious Tommy Wiseau, to this day nobody knows exactly where he’s from, how old he is or how he self-financed all his work. “The Room” is an absolute disaster and it’s a horrible movie, but there’s something genuine about it that earned it a cult following. The fact that Wiseau thought he was making something amazing just makes the blunder of the movie even more humorous, many theaters screen “The Room” at midnight to crowded audiences interacting with the film, similar to midnight screenings of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
Audiences come out to heckle the movie with each other, reciting iconic scenes and reenacting parts of the movie in the theater. “The Room” is sincerely the weirdest movie ever made, no plot lines are ever really fulfilled and dialogue is thrown out like it doesn’t mean anything...because it doesn’t! The movie is a mess of inconsistencies and illogical choices and it’s all because of Tommy Wiseau. You know that creepy guy who stares at people from across the subway tracks? Well, he made a movie, and it’s called “The Room.” It’s such a fascinating train wreck and I’ve gone out on three separate occasions to watch it in a packed theater. It’s a movie you really have to see to believe.
One of the stars of the movie, Greg Sestero wrote a book about the absolute disaster filming “The Room” was, he co-wrote it with a friend Tom Bissell. The book and accompanying audiobook (where Greg does an excellent Tommy Wiseau impression) has grown so popular that Seth Rogen and James Franco decided to adapt it into a feature film.
If you haven’t seen “The Room” I would keep it that way before watching “The Disaster Artist.” I originally thought you would HAVE to see it before watching this biopic but I actually think “The Disaster Artist” will make you want to see “The Room” anyway, just to see how bad it is as a whole. “The Disaster Artist” focuses on the real relationship between Greg Sestero (played by Dave Franco) and Tommy Wiseau (played by James Franco) and their chemistry is amazing. It’s actually easy to forget that the actors are brothers, James Franco totally engrossed himself in the character of Tommy and he’s so believable in the role that you don’t sit in the theater thinking “oh that’s James Franco,” he IS Tommy in this movie and he plays him brilliantly. He captures every nuance to his character and nails the accent.
It’s important to remember that the majority of this movie is based on a true story, there are moments that are so funny it’s hard to believe that it’s real. I would recommend reading the book before watching the movie but I know that’s a time-consuming task, I just think that’ll help you appreciate the determination Tommy had from the conception of “The Room” to filming. It’s shown well in “The Disaster Artist” but I think the book goes into a bit more detail and paints the picture better.
The cast is having so much fun as well. Seth Rogen plays the script supervisor of “The Room” and is basically the comedic “straight man” of the movie, constantly questioning Tommy’s decisions during filming and challenging him every step of the way. His fascination at how ridiculous Tommy is being on set delivers the most laughs. Paul Scheer, Alison Brie, Bob Odenkirk, Zac Efron, Josh Hutcherson, Ari Graynor and Sharon Stone are all at the top of their game and emote all the frustration of an angry film crew very realistically.
As funny as the movie is, there are also some dramatic moments where you sympathize with Tommy Wiseau. I think Wiseau is an absolute weirdo and the mystery behind his fortune and background don’t help, but there still is something to admire in his determination. He truly thought he was making a great movie and even submitted “The Room” for consideration for the Academy Awards. It’s interesting to see the story of someone pursuing their dreams, even when it’s someone like Tommy who is so disconnected from the rest of the world. Tommy deals with betrayal and countless rejections but still gets back on his feet and chases after what he wants.
