The Disaster Artist

The Disaster Artist

From the very beginning of the movie I wondered if it's required to see The Room before seeing The Disaster Artist. My final answer would be no, but I highly recommend doing at least some research. Look up a "best of The Room" compilation online or watch the Nostalgia Critic's 2009 review of it, just something that shows enough to get the performances, the characters, and the look of the movie so that the amount of effort James Franco went into making this film as accurate as possible is evident. Granted, I think everyone should see The Room regardless. I've seen it five times now.

This is a wildly entertaining movie. Right out of the gate there's laughs, and they don't stop until the movie's over. The humor comes from a few different places, mainly whenever there's a subtle nod to The Room, whenever a new unexpected famous person shows up, and the genuinely funny dialogue, performances, and visuals. Most of the movie feels like an inside joke that me and my friends were in on, but every once in a while I couldn't help but wonder if even half of it would appeal to those who aren't familiar with the source material. Luckily the screenplay was written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (the guys who wrote (500) Days of Summer, one of my very favorite movies), who know how to write funny, clever dialogue and provide a solid story structure to keep everything on track. The plot is very easy to follow, the characters are clear from the get-go, and the dialogue is insanely quotable. The film is also produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who are experts at telling fun, entertaining stories that can play to both large and small audiences, with this one being no exception. This is absolutely one to go see in the theater.

The performances are all wonderful, and of course James Franco is perfect as Tommy Wiseau. While he still looks like the handsome Franco from the front, every time he's in profile or wearing sunglasses it's entirely believable that he truly is Tommy. It's clear that he felt empathy for this guy, because it never quite feels like he's making fun of him, but at the same time he absolutely does not shy away from his strange, almost other-worldly way of being. Franco also reveals Tommy's ugly side, like when he's screaming at the crew or publicly embarrassing his actors and even at one point putting them in harm's way. It's an honest, checkered portrait of a man both shrouded in mystery and yet seen as nothing more than a joke. Dave Franco is likable and charming as Greg, the ultimate average guy, and is the perfect straight man to James Franco's Wiseauian antics. The supporting cast is great and will have every modern comedy fan short-circuiting (They got Nathan Fielder and all of the How Did This Get Made people in this! Come on!). There's also some nice unexpected dramatic moments from people like Judd Apatow and Paul Scheer, and some great comedy moments from people like Josh Hutcherson and Zac Efron, plus too many cameos to even name.

So even though I think the film is a little choppy and the experience often favors The Room fans over general audiences, it's still an entertaining movie that anyone who's up for a fun time can get behind.

Just remember, every time you inevitably ask yourself "Did that really happen?" Yes. All of it did.

Now, the spoilers:

While fans of The Room will obviously enjoy this movie, there are missing pieces of the story that would've made it all the better. For starters, Kyle Vogt who played Peter "had to" quit halfway through the movie, which is why he's replaced with a completely new character in the final act. He also had a concussion at one point but Tommy still made him finish his scene. This could've given us more Nathan Fielder, which I'm fairly certain everyone wants, plus it could've added more disaster. Another example is that Greg Sestero was originally just a line producer on The Room, but Tommy secretly wanted him to play Mark so he fired the other actor they had just hired then talked Greg into taking the role. That could've built even more pressure onto Greg being in the film. At the beginning of the second act there's a funny montage of actresses auditioning for Lisa before they land on Juliette Danielle, but Danielle was actually originally hired to play Lisa's friend Michelle and got Lisa after the original Lisa actress was fired because Tommy thought she was crazy. That could've made for a really great couple of scenes and given us another fun casting choice for the original Lisa. But possibly the biggest missed-opportunity of them all is not showing the actors (mainly Tommy) having to dub over all of their lines in post-production. This is an incredibly important element of The Room because it creates a bizarre dissonance in Tommy's performance that makes his character all the more alien-like, plus it could've been a really funny scene with Tommy and the crew. There's also the very end, which, though it succinctly shows The Room becoming a cult hit with the premiere scene, could've had a montage of people discovering it then showing it to their friends and watching it grow into the phenomenon that it is today.

Now of course I understand that adapting a story is like a shuttle shooting into space in that a lot of pieces have to come off for it to work, but in this case I think the film could've used a lot more scenes of the actual filming of The Room. It's the meat of the story and the main attraction of coming to see the film in the first place. They could've added an extra fifteen minutes of footage which would make the film an even two hours and given us more behind-the-scenes insanity while still keeping the focus on Tommy and Greg. All that being said though, I do understand why they would feel those elements would distract from the main story and perhaps it also wasn't in the budget.

However, there are other angles of The Room story that I hadn't even considered and love that the filmmakers explored. For example, when Greg's mom (the brilliant Megan Mullally) meets Tommy for the first time, I had an immediate feeling of dread. I thought "What would a mother think of their son being friends with a guy like Tommy Wiseau?" And sure enough, the exchange they have is tense, but it's also one of the funniest in the entire movie. Another fascinating scene is when all the actors are sitting together for lunch and they ask Claudette actress Carolyn Minnott (the underrated and also brilliant Jacki Weaver) why a woman her age would bother to wake up at 5am and come to this insane set every day. She simply replies that they're all actors and this is what they do, she doesn't even think twice about it. It's a lovely moment that I wouldn't have even thought about putting in the film. This kind of empathy to everyone involved in making The Room is a very important aspect of The Disaster Artist and in a way is truly what made it worth making.

Now I need to go read the book!