The Disaster Artist

Struggling would-be actor Greg (Dave Franco) meets bizarre, mysterious Tommy Wiseau (James Franco) in an acting class, and the two develop an awkward friendship. The eccentric Tommy offers to move to Los Angeles with Greg to kick start their careers, but once there they find little success. However, one day they decide that, if Hollywood won't work with them, they'll just make their own movie, which leads to the production of one of the worst movies of all time, The Room.

The Room slowly developed a cult following after it's very limited release in 2003. By the end of the decade, it had become a cult item on par with Rocky Horror Picture Show, with raucous midnight screenings and the audience reciting dialogue along with the film. The real Greg Sistero, friend and sometime roommate of Tommy Wiseau, wrote a book about the making of the movie, and this film is an adaptation of that book, so it's told from Greg's point of view. The real Wiseau is a very odd, almost cartoonish figure, and James Franco does a terrific job of portraying him, from his bizarre nightclub-vampire look to his indefinable accent. James' real-life brother Dave Franco plays Greg, and he's a bit weaker, but maybe so is Greg. The rest of the cast is rounded out by many familiar faces from the comedy world of the past decade and a half or so, with a few surprises (Is that Sharon Stone and Melanie Griffith?). I have grown to love The Room for the "hilariocity" it is, and thus my appreciation of this behind-the-scenes look at its making may be greater than those who have not or who fail to see that colossal failure's charm. I found this movie funny and endearing. One of that year's best and look ma, no CGI.

So yeah, The Room is pretty well-known by now, becoming just about the most popular 'so bad it's good' film of all time over the last six or seven years, as has the story behind it- as detailed in Greg Sestero's book, The Disaster Artist.

So being a fan of both, I had a good idea of what I was in for, approaching the James Franco directed The Disaster Artist, but I'm pleased to say the film ended up meeting my expectations and then some.

First things first: James Franco's performance in this is incredible. His accent and mannerisms are a spot-on imitation of Wiseau's, and he manages to make you feel sympathy towards the character too. It's one thing to so directly portray such a unique individual and make doing so incredibly funny, but it's another thing entirely to make him feel (almost) like a real person, and to make you genuinely care for him. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I truly think this performance is worth an Academy Award nomination (fingers crossed).

Everyone else was good too. Dave Franco had a less flashy role than his brother's, sure, playing Greg Sestero, but he did a good job as the more grounded, 'straight man' type character. And some of the casting was genius too- I could list almost everybody, but special mention should go to Josh Hutcherson, Zac Efron, and Jacki Weaver.

Also worth mentioning is how well the cast and crew recreated the look of the original The Room- the mannerisms of the actors, the set design, the lighting, the camera-work- it's all perfect. It makes the film an impressive technical achievement in many regards; not simply a funny film with inspired casting and good performances.

As for downsides? There aren't a whole bunch. Perhaps the most significant is that this may not have a great deal of appeal beyond those who've watched and loved The Room already. I'm sure it would still function as a good film, but it might lack something for those who aren't already indoctrinated into the cult of The Room. Other nitpicks I could think of may be that the film is fairly conventional in terms of plot- not a ton of surprises here (other than maybe a few cameos throughout). And it feels a tiny bit longer than just over 100 minutes- but again, that's a nitpick. I am more or less struggling to think of too much that I personally didn't like with this film.

So as a long time fan of The Room, this is about as good as I hoped it could be. I hope I'm wrong in my views that the audience for this will be limited, and that it does have appeal beyond hardcore fans of The Room. And hey, if there's enough buzz behind it to allow for James Franco to earn an Oscar nomination, then that would be fantastic.

And deserved (in my opinion).

This is one of the most pleasant surprises of the film year so far, and second only to Tim Burton's Ed Wood in the (admittedly probably non-existent) sub-genre of films about making terrible movies.

If you've ever watched The Room, or even just watched some of its scenes on Youtube, make sure you don't miss this one.

'The Disaster Artist' has garnered comparisons with Tim Burton's 'Ed Wood'. Not surprisingly, both detailing of incompetent directors making infamously terrible films with big dreams and with their hearts in the right place.

In 'The Disaster Artist's' case, it looks at the life of Tommy Wiseau and the making of one of the worst films ever made 'The Room'. Some consider 'The Room' a cult classic while acknowledging that it isn't a good film but to me and others it's just inept film-making even when taking it for what it is. Like 'Ed Wood', a masterpiece and the better film, 'The Disaster Artist' is an infinitely better film than that that is the film's subject, actually being good. If you love 'The Room', you'll love 'The Disaster Artist' and how the film is treated affectionately rather than trashed. Even those who hate 'The Room', like me, are likely to find a lot to enjoy.

Not without its flaws certainly. Personally could have done without the concluding side by side comparisons, which didn't serve much point and on their own they were not as funny or clever as they could have been.

More pointless are some of the cameos, which were distracting and leaned towards the smug.

However, 'The Disaster Artist' is a triumph when it comes to the script and the storytelling. The script is witty and clever, with a lot of the frequent humorous moments and lines being hysterical. None of it is less than very amusing. Just as much a treat are the re-enacting scenes, which are far funnier than the actual product itself. Yet it's not just about the humour, there is also an immense likeability, pathos, heart and honesty.

Really loved the story execution. Tommy's hopes and struggles are relevant and relatable and his confidence and perseverance inspiring. The treatment of the subject matter is affectionate and also eccentric like Wiseau himself, something that one doesn't expect when they have knowledge of Wiseau and 'The Room'. One would think that the film would poke fun and trash them, but actually they're treated in a respectful and candid fashion, this definitely felt like a celebration. Especially well done is the central budding friendship, which was handled with warmth and sincerity and was truly heartfelt to watch.

Visually, 'The Disaster Artist' is certainly a more competent film while having some purposefully inept moments when re-enacting. The music is effective and fitting if not memorable or striking enough to get any rooting for awards. James Franco shows great confidence as a director and also gives a performance of a lifetime that shows him having the time of his life. It is easy to overlook his brother Dave, but he is not deserving of being because he gives every bit as good a performance while being more subtle. Seth Rogan is a riot and makes the most impression of the supporting cast.

Overall, very good and nearly great film, not disastrous in the slightest, misstepping only at the end and with some of the cameos. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Ed Wood was Stanley Kubrick compared to Tommy Wiseau but James Franco treats him with such loving care that we can connect with his humanity without letting his eccentricities pull us away from him. That, I think, was the most moving aspect of this outrageous true life tale. James Franco is spectacular keeping it true and real in a character that lent itself for caricature. Dave Franco, James's brother in real life is the most believable instant soulmate of the James Dean wannabe. Seth Rogen is also perfect as the one knows that they're in for a major disaster and yet sees the whole thing to the bitter end. I must confess I hadn't heard of The Room but now it's on top of my list of films I want to see next.

The Disaster Artist (2017)

*** (out of 4)

Greg (Dave Franco) is a wannabe acting taking part in an acting course when he meets a bizarre man named Tommy (James Franco). Tommy talks the young man into moving to Los Angeles where the two can hopefully live their dreams of becoming actors but things don't work as planned so Tommy comes up with the idea of making his own movie.

James Franco produced, directed as stars as Tommy Wiseau and it's easy to see why he would be so involved with the film. I mean, THE ROOM is just one of those movies that once you see you can never forget it. There are great movies that you watch that you'll never forget but THE ROOM is something completely different. Some have called it one of the worst movies ever made but it is a cult item and it continues to live on whereas some of the "good" movies that were made at the same time have been forgotten.

THE DISASTER ARTIST is a rather interesting film on a number of levels. It does work as a documentary look at the making of the film as well as the relationship between Greg Sestero and Tommy Wiseau but at the same time you learn very little about the man behind the camera. This is actually joked about throughout this movie and to me the film worked best as an acting showcase for James Franco. There's no question that his performance is the reason to watch this movie as he goes all in as the bizarre Wiseau.

What I enjoyed most about the film is that Franco perfectly nails the speech of Wiseau but he also doesn't just mimic the real person but instead delivers a full and rich performance. The actor really is believable in the role and so much so that you can actually believe that you're watching the real Wiseau and not just an actor playing him. Dave Franco, Alison Brie, Jacki Weaver and Seth Rogen all turn in nice supporting performances but there's no doubt that it's Franco who steals the picture.

In all honesty, I'm not sure how much interest this film will have to people who aren't already familiar with THE ROOM. I'd personally recommend that you watch that film before getting into this one. For the most part I thought Franco, the director, did a good job at showing the craziness behind the scenes and how it all ended up on the screen. We might not learn a lot about the character but we at least get an idea of the madness that it took to create THE ROOM.