Hilarious, heartfelt, dramatic, and intense

Rating: 9/10 (10 December 2017)

"The Disaster Artist" was perhaps my most anticipated movie of the year. So you better believe I spent an obscene amount of money on tickets to force my family to come see this movie with me; after all, they can't say no when I already bought out a whole row of reserved seats at my local theatre. I sat down in my reclining chair, practically salivating, and not just because I bought an extra large hotdog and a cherry Coke. The trailers were painful to sit through. The theatre was packed - there hasn't been a theatre so full since "The Simpsons Movie." We sat through trailers about fish monster romance and people shrinking themselves for some unknown reason, and then finally, after 20 minutes, we had to sit through another preview about the cinemas new monthly reward club, and then our movie started.
And immediately everyone started to laugh. The first 20 minutes of the movie brought forth practically non-stop laughter from everyone in the audience. People laughed at the small references, the visual gags, and of course, the actual jokes that the movie was making. But then, maybe after about 30 to 40 minutes, some seriously heartfelt drama started to appear, which made the movie take a turn for the better. You see, everyone expected "The Disaster Artist" to be a goofy, silly comedy film, but in reality it is much more than that.
Tommy, played masterfully by James Franco, becomes such a sympathetic character that at points the movie becomes too sad to laugh at. For example, there is a wonderfully intense scene where Tommy, when filming the infamous bellybutton sex scene, starts arguing with his film crew. It's supposed to be funny as well as dramatic, but the film paints such a sad picture of Tommy that the scene just becomes depressing. And this isn't a bad thing at all, this just shows how emotionally powerful this so-called comedy really is. Yes, the movie is very funny, but at its core this movie is a character study of Tommy Wiseau; it is a look inside of his desperately lonely but yet somewhat positive life. What I mean is, it is obvious that Tommy wanted a friend in his life, as is evident by his almost homoerotic possessiveness over Greg. But, Tommy absolutely stopped at nothing to accomplish his dream, which is, in my opinion, very commendable. "The Disaster Artist" shows how lonely Tommy is while also showing how much he wanted to make his lifelong dream a reality, and in addition to that the film is truly funny, even though there are many points where you'll feel so bad for Tommy that you won't want to laugh at him, even though the movie wants you to.
If you thought that "The Disaster Artist" was just going to be a one-note comedy, then you better get that notion out of your head now because this film is much, much more than that. I didn't, and it was obvious that the rest of the audience didn't, expect this movie to be as dramatic and sympathetic as it was, but the drama and the study of Tommy's character and mind are truly what makes this movie as fantastic as it is, and I can tell you right now that if James Franco does not get an Oscar nomination for Best Actor then he is being robbed. Please go see this movie. It is not only one of the best comedies of 2017, not only one of the best dramas of 2017, but it is most definitely one of the best MOVIES of 2017. Anyway, how's your sex life?