A fascinating and often funny look into the making of The Room

Rating: 8/10 (6 December 2017)

The Disaster Artist is a comedy-drama film directed by and starring James Franco. Based on the non-fiction book "The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Film Ever Made" by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell, it is a fascinating and often funny look into the making of The Room, a film widely considered to be one of the worst ever made.
In San Francisco in 1998, aspiring actor Greg Sestero (Dave Franco) meets a bizarre, long-haired, heavily-accented man in his acting class named Tommy Wiseau (James Franco) and the two form a strange friendship. One day, Tommy persuades Greg to move with him to Los Angeles in hopes of pursuing their mutual dreams of stardom. Tempted by the thought of becoming famous, Greg immediately agrees and the two embark on an adventure through Hollywood. After neither of them receive any movie offers, Tommy decides to make his own movie, which will be written, directed, produced by and starring him and Greg in the lead roles.
Charming and fun to watch, The Disaster Artist is an amusing but cautionary tale about following one's dreams and the longing to make it big in Hollywood, even if it does detract a bit from the book it was based on. The filmmakers did a superb job recreating some of The Room's most (in)famous scenes, from Johnny's (Tommy's) anger on the rooftop ("I did not hit her! It's not true!") to his argument with his future wife ("You are tearing me apart, Lisa!"). James Franco is mesmerising as Tommy Wiseau. His mimicry of Tommy's mysterious European accent and mannerisms are on point, but never so much that they feel like outright mockery. James' real-life younger brother Dave Franco was also great as Greg Sestero. One can't help but feel sorry for the real Greg with what he went through helping Tommy get this movie made. While not a requirement, I strongly recommend watching The Room before seeing this film, as I feel it would help put certain moments in the proper context. Also, be sure to stay after the credits for a hilarious bonus scene.
I rate it 8/10