When I first heard about this movie and what it was about, I said to myself, “How unnecessary. I’d rather just watch the original film of The Room.” I turned out to really enjoy this movie. It was surprisingly inspirational. The film follows Tommy Wiseau (James Franco) and Greg Sestero (Dave Franco) through their process of making The Room. In a nutshell, The Disaster Artist is the story of how one man’s fear of failure manifested into a dream of success coming true. The audience sees their inspirations for particular scenes. For example, Tommy and Greg are big fans of James Dean. Clearly, James Dean’s line in Rebel Without a Cause “You’re tearing me apart!” inspired the famous line “You are tearing me apart Lisa!” Additionally, Tommy Wiseau is deeply inspired by Tennessee Williams, and he wants his script to echo drama of his plays.
Originally, I expected Tommy Wiseau’s performance to be mockish in the style of an SNL parody. Certainly, Franco’s performance is comedic. However, the purpose of his performance is not to make fun of what a horrible filmmaker and actor he is. I felt a lot of empathy for Tommy Wiseau when his cast and crew members talked bad about him behind his back. He is not depicted as a complete fool but rather a misunderstood dreamer. This is not to say that his cast and crew members are portrayed as villains. Seth Rogen and Paul Scheer are great as the crew members. Newcomer Nathan Fielder is hilarious as the psychologist character in The Room. Peter. Also, Josh Hutcherson plays a funny small role as the 26-year old teenage actor. It was nice to see Jacki Weaver again. I have not seen her in many films since Silver Linings Playbook. Although the audience can empathize with Tommy when they misunderstand him, they can feel the stress of the cast and crew members during the making of The Room.
Nevertheless, Wiseau does not give up on his dream of making his film. Ultimately, I rooted for Wiseau despite knowing that The Room is known as “the worst film of all time.” Then again, The Room being so horrible is what makes it great. The ridiculously written and delivered lines are the reason for The Room’s major cult following. People who have seen The Room will enjoy The Disaster Artist, and people who have not seen The Room will be introduced to it. To conclude, this film teaches actors, writers, and directors not to give up on their dreams, even after being rejected.
