What a Movie, James

Rating: 8/10 (24 January 2018)

The Disaster Artist is the unbelievable true story behind the infamous making of The Room, one of the worst movies imaginable, which is considered by many to be so bad it's good. James Franco shines as the eccentric, egotistical, and unpredictable Tommy Wiseau, the director-writer-producer and star of The Room. The Disaster Artist not only works as a very enjoyable movie but also as a thoughtful node to filmmaking, dreams, and friendship.
The cast is loaded with more celebrity cameos than the SNL Christmas episode. Many of them bring their star studded power but not much else. Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, and co-star Dave Franco are the only side performers who make the most of what they are given. Seth Rogen's critical condescension of Wiseau's unorthodox methods is very compelling especially since Rogen is normally typecast as the nice lovable stoner. Dave Franco nails Wiseau's real life best friend Greg Sestero, the sensible but loyal friend of Tommy. Zac Efron masters the very limited yet intimidating role of the irate drug dealer (the only good acting in The Room). And of course all the performers feed off of James Franco's masterful impersonation of Tommy Wiseau, which should have given him an Oscar nomination if not for Franco's sexual allegations.
The Disaster Artist, like so many other based on a true story adaptations, coasts off the unbelievable hilarity of its true story. Some of the things that go down during the nightmarish production of this legendary movie are truly stranger than fiction, and help explain why The Room turned out as badly as it did. A minor misstep James Franco, as a director, took was bending some of the truth for dramatic effect. Greg's offer to be on Malcolm in the Middle was completely fabricated and untrue. They took poetic license to show you the divide that Tommy was causing to the relationship of himself and Greg, when more truthful subtleties would have been more effective.
When people first heard about the creation of The Disaster Artist, they had to assume that it was going to be a spoof or condemnation of Tommy Wiseau. Instead, Franco presents Wiseau as a 'real human bean' (reference to The Room) full of positives and negatives. The story's heart stems from the friendship between Wiseau and Sestero. Their dedication and perseverance to make their dreams come true when everyone else doubted and rejected them allows the audience to feel and empathize with them. And the great irony of the whole thing is that Wiseau and Sestero achieved their goals of becoming famous actors (just not in the way they planned).
The Disaster Artist is a film that in order to fully appreciate one must have seen or heard of The Room or Tommy Wiseau. The movie is still enjoyable, eye-opening, and surprisingly heartfelt, but not as effective for someone entering with no knowledge of The Room.