I know I’m super late on this one.
What can I say? I had a pretty significant stretch of busyness/sickness/holidays.
I’m sure you understand.
Directed by James Franco
Written by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber, based on the book The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell
Cast: Dave Franco, James Franco, Seth Rogen, Ari Graynor, Alison Brie, Jacki Weaver, Paul Scheer, Zac Efron, Josh Hutcherson, June Diane Raphael, Megan Mullally, Jason Mantzoukas, Andrew Santino, Nathan Fielder, Joe Mande, Sharon Stone, John Early, Melanie Griffith, Hannibal Buress, Charlyne Yi, Sugar Lyn Beard, Bob Odenkirk, Randall Park, Casey Wilson, Jerrod Carmichael, Tom Franco, Zoey Deutch
Soundtrack: Dave Porter
Tommy Wiseau, writer, director, producer, and star of The Room, isn’t the first filmmaker in history to make a movie dubbed “The Worst of All Time” and then have a film made about his life and the making of said movie.
The natural juxtaposition of The Disaster Artist and The Room is with Ed Wood and Plan Nine From Outer Space, but the comparisons don’t run very deep.
Edward D. Wood Jr., though Z-grade, managed to get work done at the outer reaches of the studio system.
By contrast, Wiseau was a complete Hollywood outsider, whose origins and means were (and still very much are) shrouded in mystery.
Part of the genius of The Disaster Artist is that it introduces three questions about Tommy that we all have (Where is he from? How old is he? Where does the money come from?), and doesn’t answer them, yet we don’t feel unfulfilled.
Much of it comes down to James Franco’s performance as Wiseau himself. He may not be the spitting image, but he boldly embodies the persona, and reportedly he was committed enough to stay in character even when directing (which actually makes sense to me in this case). The chemistry he has with his brother Dave opposite him is helpful as well.
Beyond the Brothers Franco though, no one in the movie has a whole lot to do, but nobody stands out as doing a bad job, and the many cameos are fun to see.
If I have one criticism of the film, it’s that I found the message to be somewhat muddled. On the one hand it makes the point to follow your dreams without fear, but then Tommy is also portrayed to be somewhat exploitative, so, I’m not entirely sure what to make if it.
Beyond that though, The Disaster Artist stands a a fitting tribute to a movie that deserves its cult status as a baffling opus. It’s curious about what you’re curious about, and even though it’s largely a comedy, it’s not afraid to get dramatically uncomfortable at times, which I’m sure was the case in real life.
If you haven’t seen The Room already, The Disaster Artist is sure to pique your interest. If you have already seen The Room, you likely won’t have the same experience as the uninitiated, but The Disaster Artist is still a fine investment.
Much like the Wright/Pegg/Frost films in relation to their subject matter, this movie is no parody, but rather a love letter, and one well worth reading.
Rating: ★★★★☆
P.S.
Stick around all the way to the end. I won’t spoil anything, but this might have the best end-credits stinger in the history of end-credits stingers.