Big Shark

For years, fans of Tommy Wiseau have been waiting for the release of Big Shark. A trailer was dropped, then the project seemed to be on hold, up next it appeared to be canceled, suddenly a new trailer dropped and the film was finally released last year. It was a unique experience watching this film at Ottawa's legendary Mayfair Theatre with much crowd participation and a few drinks beforehand. This is the exact attitude you need when watching Big Shark. This film is so absurd that it requests a complete suspension of disbelief to take this feature humorously. Otherwise, you will get frustrated by the movie's excessively weird characters, terrible dialogues filled with stunning grammatical mistakes and paper-thin plot that doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

To keep it short, this movie revolves around three firefighters who spend their time partying, hitting on women and drinking booze every single day. One day, one of these firefighters named Patrick claims to have spotted a thirty-five-foot shark in a muddy lake that he calls a river for unfathomable reasons. His friends don't believe him but soon a gigantic shark surfs through New Orleans on randomly appearing rivulets of water. For vague reasons, the three firefighters decide to kill the shark as the military and police don't intervene at all. They decide to catch three pigs as bait for the shark that they ultimately decide not to use. Instead, they get a dead pig at a butcher's place, fill it with blood and dynamite and launch it on a rubber dinghy to kill the shark.

For those who are not familiar with Tommy Wiseau's work yet, there are several reasons why people enjoy watching his movies. First of all, his movies are so uniquely bad that they don't compare to anyone or anything else. Even other controversial directors look like experienced geniuses next to Tommy Wiseau. Up next, these movies are so hilariously bad that they are genuinely entertaining as viewers will come back revisiting them by remembering their favourite worst scenes, plot twists and awkward dialogues. The characters in his movies stand out because they act entirely irrationally and sometimes change their attitudes, behaviours and mindsets from one minute to the other. The technical aspects of the movies also leave a lot to be desired as the shifts in the sound department are excessive, lighting work at times blinds the audience and the settings offer numerous awkward choices.

You might now wonder why people watch a movie like Big Shark that sounds bad on paper and is actually even worse than you expect it to be. This movie offers unparalleled escapism and invites for a light-hearted fun ride that is best enjoyed with a few drinks and friends. I have watched The Room time and again and would watch it again in a heartbeat. Big Shark is even more consistent in its absurdity and thus appeals even more to me. I'm prepared to return to the cinema to watch this film again, I would purchase it physically to enjoy it at home and I have written this review to promote this weird masterpiece to the entire world.

For those who are already familiar with the works of Tommy Wiseau, this movie is everything you expect it to be and might even exceed your expectations as you will be crying tears of joy while watching this unbelievable cinematic accident.

As for Tommy Wiseau himself, I have nothing but genuine respect for him as I sincerely admire his resilience at creating movies despite innumerable obstacles. This man deserves recognition because he is living his dream and has offered hours of comedic entertainment to fans from all around the world. I would like to encourage him to continue doing his work as long as he wants to as I'm willing to give all of his releases a shot.

On a closing note, I would rather watch a ridiculous but entertaining, funny and sympathetic movie such as Big Shark than an intellectual but depressing, overlong and pretentious feature such as the heavily overrated Anatomy of a Fall.

I was invited to see this movie and after reading the reviews, I thought what the hell. Why not see a movie at 10PM in this disgusting theater in Dallas, and WHY a premiere??? I had to leave an hour in because I couldn't hear a damn word. The crowd attracted to this movie is utter trash. If you've seen Gremlins, that scene of all them in the theater, that's the crowd. Loud. Throwing spoons? Drunk. Making inappropriate comments about body parts and screaming random stuff trying to be funny. I work too hard to be surrounded by idiots and yeah, I said it. So now this movie... I gave it an honest 3. Wish I could've heard the damn thing! They did a lot of nonsense improving, talking over each other yet I could tell they spent a lot on the shark and CGI. The acting wasn't bad, I've seen worse. The scenes were cut weird and drawn out but that's what makes these movies so popular I guess. I'll never know what happens unless it's screened in the comfort of my own clean home. If Tommy decides to make more movies and he wants a premiere, premiere them in a normal theater to weed out the trash.

Let's get the obvious out of the way: yes, it's a bad movie and somehow a huge technical step down after 2003's The Room, but I can't bring myself to hate anything Wiseau makes, especially if it made me laugh as hard as this did.

The best way to describe it is it's as if Wiseau decided to mix a John Cassavetes film with Birdemic: Shock and Terror, but with a shark instead of birds. There are so many clearly unrehearsed scenes of the actors talking over each other and having cyclical conversations that it felt like I was watching a nightmare at times. I spent most of the movie trying to guess where Wiseau was going to end a scene because so many just keep. On. Going. The pacing is nonexistent; our lead characters go from speeding away from the Big Shark to getting drunk at a bar and partying as if nothing happened, then they're back to figuring out how they're going to kill it. It's almost frustrating how often the tones switch but the movie never got boring. The first time the shark makes its appearance had me laughing so hard I had tears coming out of my eyes. The logic behind the shark and how it operates is so insane I'm surprised The Asylum didn't pick this up for release to rival Sharknado.

Are there good things about the movie? I mean, the camera they used had a nice quality to it. There are a handful of good looking shots. The shark animations aren't awful, though the complete lack of sound effects when it appears lessen the impact of its rampages. I liked one song used during a party scene. The guy that played Georgie was Steve Howey on 'Reba' levels of funny, I think he was fully aware what kind of movie he was in. Everyone else is clearly trying, but the sound editors definitely did not. Wonder what the hat budget was for this movie, because there are a lot of hats and a whole scene dedicated to hat buying. It's so weird.

I know I'm making it sound like the worst movie ever but seriously, watching this with a crowd was one of the best theater experiences I've had in a while. Everyone was erupting with laughter almost every other minute, whether it be at the technical incompetencies or the truly strange dialogue that never gets any better. There are also moments of Tommy bursting out into song that left me cringing with embarrassment but by the end me and everyone else in the audience were singing along with him.

I recommend it for sure, anyone familiar with Wiseau's work or anyone that finds enjoyment watching badly made films will get so much mileage from this. I'm glad I experienced it, I'm definitely buying it if it ever gets a physical release.

Just watched this back to back with The Room, and the only question that needs answered is whether this is as much fun as The Room. My answer is No, but it's still a lot of ridiculous fun in the cinema.

The Room is a one-off, loved & admired by film aficiancdos as much as b-movie lovers for its unintentional ridiculous direction & writing, and when you watch it in the cinema the effect is multiplied. It's so much fun to watch in a fun-loving crowd.

Big Shark makes it way up along to The Room, and Tommy Wiseau is still Tommy Wiseau. This is really just a Sci-Fi channel movie with the expected nonsense. It's daft, it's corny and funny.

It isn't anywhere near as much fun as The Room, but don't fret, as in the cinema with a jolly crowd, you'll have a fun time.

Enjoy!

Very very enjoyable with a big audience. Everyone was cheering and laughing. Tommy was in the crowd and loving it. Please watch this with friends or a giant crowd. The movie itself was unfinished, but that made it even better for the audience. The cgi for the shark was so funny, and at times wasn't even finished. Like one shot would have the big shark, and the next it wasn't there. Was definitely an interesting movie. Tommy really outdid himself with it, and I loved every second. 10/10 perfect movie watch with friends and get drunk. Tommy is also an awesome man who is so very strange but wonderful. I love him.