Ed Wood's long lost cousin

Rating: 8/10 (15 November 2019)

I wonder what someone who sits down to watch 'The Disaster Artist' would think of it without actually seeing the film that it's all about? In case you don't know in 2003, a man called Tommy Wiseau wrote, produced, directed, financed and even starred in his own movie, i.e 'The Room.' Now, bearing in mind this was in Hollywood, you may not think there is much here worthy of a two hour film based on the events surrounding the production. However, you obviously don't know Tommy Wiseau. In fact... even people who do know him possibly don't know everything about him!
James Franco plays Mr Wiseau and, if you happened to tune in to the film halfway through, you'd think he was playing some sort of exaggerated version of a character from a TV sit-com. The thing is, believe it or not, Tommy Wiseau is just like Franco's portrayal, i.e. totally bonkers and an absolute spectacle to behold.
What's more, on its released, 'The Room' totally bombed at the Box Office (assuming it made it into more than a handful of cinemas across the country at the time). Like Ed Wood's 'Plan 9 From Outer Space' before it, 'The Room' became known as being one of the worst films to ever be made (in terms of, well, pretty much everything). However, just because it was bad, didn't mean it wasn't entertaining to watch and has slowly grown to becoming some sort of 'cult classic.'
'The Disaster Artist' charts how the film came to be and the relationship between its two main stars (interestingly the other is played by James Franco's brother, Dave. And, like 'The Room' before it, it's one of the most entertaining car crashes of a film ever made. Yes, it's technically more competently produced and better acted, but it's just so bonkers (all thanks to Tommy Wiseau and James Franco's spot-on portrayal) that you'll find you just can't look away. Also, I don't know whether it's because the two leads are brothers in real life, but their bond really does shine through into the story and it creates some genuinely touching moments of heart in an otherwise weird series of events.
If you've watched 'The Room' then watching 'The Disaster Artist' is a much-see, as you're obviously into strange and cult films. If you haven't, I'd still give this one a go. Yes, it's hard to believe that the character of Tommy Wiseau is really like that in real life, but - based on everything I've read online - he really is like this (and even approved of Franco's portrayal of him!).