The greatest movie about the creation of the worst movie ever made.

Rating: 9/10 (3 December 2017)

As someone who has recently been inducted into the cult fandom of the Room, The Disaster Artist really surprised me at how much depth it brings. The Disaster Artist doesn't just act like it's a comedy that pokes fun at The Room but gives you an understanding and appreciation of how that insane movie came to be. The story tells how the world kept telling Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero that they would never become famous and their passion project would be the worst thing ever made. The amazing result is that these two underdogs were both proved right and wrong. They achieved celebrity cult status by making the worst movie ever made. While this is a movie about the making of the worst movie ever made, the heart of the story is the friendship between Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero (whom are played by real-life brothers). From the moment a stage-frightened Greg watches Tommy let out his weird performance on stage without thinking about being embarrassed, a strange but beautiful bromance begins to form. Years later after moving to LA to get into the acting gig, Wiseau and Sestero vow to make their own movie when Hollywood refused to give them the chance. As production of The Room moves along, Wiseau and Sestero's friendship is tested. As Greg moves on with his life, it affects both his personal and professional relationship with Tommy. This then has a negative effect on the filming production with the crew and cast. But in the end you still care about Tommy and Greg fulfilling their goals. By getting you invested in these kinds of emotional stakes, The Disaster Artist never feels like it's going overtop just for cheap laughs. James Franco actually gives a lot of surprising emotional depth to his portrayal of Tommy Wiseau. Franco nails Wiseau's mysterious (maybe European) accent and bizarre pattern of speech but goes the extra mile to show how emotional insecure he is. There are times it is easy to laugh at Tommy since his naivety and lack of talent or experience portrays him as a fool. Other times his obsession with his vision antagonizes those around him while in certain moments you almost shed a tear for him because you feel his internal pain of being rejected by the world. Like some are already talking about, I do think it is worth putting Franco's name into consideration for the Oscars as best lead actor. Dave Franco should also be given credit as Greg Sestero, Wiseau's real-life friend, co-star and producer of The Room. As the only sane person who is close to understanding Tommy, Greg must try to keep things in check with him. But because Greg feels like he owes him for helping him with his career it causes him to enable Tommy with his ludicrous decision-making at the cost of their relationship. Seth Rogen is once again hilarious this time as the script supervisor Sandy Schklair. Here he serves as the audience's perspective into The Room by questioning the absurdity of Tommy's decisions and creative process. For the most part The Disaster Artist does not rely on audience already having an experience with The Room to love it. However you might have more of an understanding having seen The Room to get some gags and little easter eggs relating to it. The Disaster Artist at first may seem like a mocking at bad filmmaking but in the end its true message comes down to the value of friendship and having an appreciation for fulfilling your passion and dream even if not every agrees with it. It is easily one of my favourite surprises of this year