A heartfelt documentation about the creation of the worlds best so bad it's good movie.

Rating: 8/10 (13 April 2018)

'Why are there so many framed photographs of spoons?' 'Why are plot points introduced only to be immediately dropped and unresolved?' 'Why are they playing catch in tuxedo's? Why doesn't the florist recognise her so called favourite customer?' 'And just what the hell is wrong with that weird kid Denny?' These are just a few questions that circulate Tommy Wiseau's bafflingly terrible 2003 cult film The Room, a film that has been crowned as the 'best worst movie ever made'. Made for $6 000 000 (although it really doesn't give that impression), The Room has become something of a phenomenon. Despite it being a film that is so utterly incompetent in everything it tries to achieve; this oddity of cinema has the extraordinary ability to be strangely entertaining. Make no mistake, The Room may be dreadful, but it's also bust-a-gut hilarious. Intended as a serious drama and described by Wiseau himself as 'a film with the passion of Tennessee Williams', it's disastrous critical reception and box office earnings upon release (a mere $1800) prompted Wiseau to reinvent his passion project as a cult comedy, which continues to be screened all over the world and once a month at the Prince Charles cinema in London.
Greg Sestero, who plays Mark in the original film, wrote a book documenting his experiences behind the scenes, entitled The Disaster Artist. Much of the book delves into what it was like on set and how some of the most infamous scenes came to be, whilst other chapters explore the true mystery of the film; it's director/writer/producer/star, and all-round enigma, Tommy Wiseau. Many movies are truly terrible and unwatchable, but very few movies have the power to be awful and brilliant all at once. Sestero's book, and this adaptation by James Franco and company, explores why The Room is such a special film. We open with Greg (Dave Franco) bumbling his way through a wooden performance of Waiting for Godot in an acting class, which is immediately followed by a fearless, yet truly dreadful rendition of a scene from A Streetcar Named Desire by the mysterious Tommy Wiseau (James Franco). Greg is bewildered by this long haired, vampire looking outcast, but quickly befriends him and the two become acting partners and make a pact to push one another towards success. Moving to LA, they struggle with audition after audition, failing to catch a break. Greg suggests they create their own film outside of the big studio system, prompting Tommy to write The Room, a serious drama about love, friendship and betrayal.
There is much to like about The Disaster Artist. James Franco does a great job of directing the film as well as playing Tommy Wiseau with such incredible accuracy. Franco fully embraces the role and is reported to have directed the production in character, signifying just how much of an underrated filmmaker he is. The relationship between Tommy and Greg is portrayed well and makes you root for them even though they're creating an absolute turkey. Many of the original films most infamous scenes are recreated frame by frame, and proceeds to provide explanations as to how some of the worse line deliveries in the history of movies cropped up in the final cut. What the film also does well is display both Wiseau's sympathetic and malevolent aspects of his personality throughout the film. Early on he is deemed to have a 'malevolent presence' by a theatre director during an audition, which is highlighted during a scene in which Wiseau displays an unexpected cruel nature towards his cast and crew. Most importantly, the film maintains the laughs throughout, and by the end I felt a much greater appreciation for The Room itself.
You need not see The Room before experiencing a glimpse into it's world behind the camera, but I would whole heartedly recommend it if you are a fan of so-bad-it's-good cinema. True die-hard fans of The Room may want to stick around after the credits for a hilarious cameo scene featuring Wiseau himself. What's most refreshing about this biopic is that it doesn't just solely make jokes about how awful The Room is, but honours what is truly special about it.