Yah, this real Hollywood movie.
So my familiarity with "The Room" goes back about 7 years, and at that time, it was just a cult movie...sometimes shown at the Music Box. I got to meet Tommy and high-fived him. Didn't get to throw a football at him, and didn't get to meet Greg Sestero. But I did read "The Disaster Artist" when it came out in 2013.
I was a big fan of "The Room" because of the audacity of its horribleness. Just like "Worst Best Movie", I thought it was interesting to delve deeper into such a genuine bad movie.
I have no time for bullshit SyFy tripe like "Sharknado". I have an affinity for those bad filmmakers who think they are making something great.
This movie made me feel bad for Ed Wood, in a way. He never got to see his films become beloved. He never got to experience a midnight showing of his film and enjoy the trembling crowd's anticipation of all its cult glory.
But Wiseau has. He's achieved the true American dream. And "The Disaster Artist" is a great representation of doing so. Wiseau is no artist. He's no director. He is simply a visionary. He's just an immigrant with something to say. What it is, nobody knows.
The film pulls this off with the power of its conviction, especially in the Francos' performances of Greg (Dave) and Tommy (James).
It takes some liberties with the source material, and fudges the real story to make way for a comedy/drama about Wiseau's passion and Greg's innocent chasing of dreams.
It leaves out Greg's own vision of the American dream, where he plods along trying to make it as an actor (he was in a "Puppet Master" film), and goes straight for the making of "The Room". I can't blame the filmmakers for excising the former. Greg's story is intriguing, but Tommy's story is theatrical.
The result is always an amusing, mesmerizing story that really gives the excuse...if you want to make a movie, make a movie. If you happen to have $6 million lying around...make your movie!
It's good fun, and James Franco deserves the Oscar for Best Actor, in Nomination and possibly winning.
out of