Big Shark

Tommy Wiseau's latest horror monster film is an enjoyable ride that's true to his signature style, with nods to his cult classic 'The Room.' The film's imperfections add to its charm, and it's clear that Tommy put a lot of heart into it. The story and characters are well-crafted and entertaining, making up for any limitations in the movie's budget. Best watched with friends, you'll laugh, sing along, and maybe even shout at the screen. If you're a fan of Tommy's previous work or simply looking for something different in the horror genre, this film is worth checking out. But be warned, seeing this movie in theaters may turn into a midnight rocky horror style experience that you won't forget anytime soon.

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.

"SOPHIA SOPHIA I LOVE YOU SOPHIA!" Damn, Tommy has done it again, crafting another masterpiece of mediocre acting and even more mediocre writing that somehow still has so many unforgettable lines. Not only is this a thriller, it's also a fricking MUSICAL with spontaneous bursts of a cappella singing that will make Vincente Minnelli rise from his grave and clap with approval. "COWBOYS DON'T CRY/HEROES DON'T DIE/THEY JUST SPARKLE IN THE SKY/SO I WON'T CRY." I can't get it out of my head! Seriously, go see this movie the first chance you get. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll cringe, you'll wonder what the hell is going on; to quote another iconic musical, "Who could ask for anything more?"

In order to fully appreciate this film you need two things. Lots of drink before it starts and a decent amount of audience participation. That's because it's terrible. Now I know that the creator of "The Room" (2003) was unlikely to deliver us an award-winning epic, but I think even I was disappointed by just how poor this is. When New Orleans is threatened not only by rising flood waters, but by a menacing shark it falls to three highly decorated fire-fighters to find away to save their city. The acting and dialogue are like a very bad rehearsal for a "Bill & Ted" film, the visual effects stop being entertaining fairly quickly and that just leaves us with a mess of a movie that all-too-often just made me cringe. Tommy Wiseau is clearly a shrewd man, but this attempt to make a silk purse from a sow's ear is just risible on about every level and even with ensemble guffaws of embarrassment from the other suitably lubricated folks in the cinema it becomes pretty much unwatchable. A parody of many other films, it may be trying to be - but for me, well it's just not funny!

The first star is for the appreciation and love shown to New Orleans. The second star is for the majority of the shot composition and lighting, that crew did a very great job and the style came through and worked. The third star is for character Tim and the actor's energy and commitment, he brought his A game to a sloppy and incoherent script and never wavered, bravo.

I love The Room and the Wiseau personality because they are entertaining, and that film was a genuine effort to make a good film that failed in many ways but succeeded in unexpected ways.

Big Shark feels like a film meant to be bad and succeeding as just that. Scenes are drawn out to the point of insanity, with pointless ad-libbed improv of certain phrases, possibly several takes worth of the same dialogue and plot beats. In fact, the film consistently retreads itself, the characters setting about a rarely discussed "The Plan" only to find them drinking or playing pool or having a stroll or a drive.

It almost comes across as allegory for the aimlessness and arrested development of modern men, bold attitudes and bravado as a facade for underlying insecurity and inaction, always proclaiming goals they never quite reach, with the big shark representing the chaos of the world and its perception as impending doom in broadcast reaction but its treatment as an inconvenient interruption in actual action.

I have heard the film is unfinished, and the lack of polish, fx, credits, or coherent editing reinforces that. Fixing the audio, more cuts, added missing fx, and some editing fixes would go a long way to making it less a slog than it needs to be. It is entertaining with an audience because Tommy Wiseau draws and interesting and eclectic crowd, but unlike The Room, this film is a hard watch and even the typical complementing Wiseau crowd was getting worn out of these sections.

I did enjoy it for what it was, but Best F(r)iends and The Room are better films in my opinion. Big Shark makes it seem like Tommy hasn't learned much as a filmmaker over his 20 year career. I am sure there are talented people willing to work with him, obviously there are, and his production side wasn't given the care the other aspects of the film deserved. I am not dismissive of TW's talent to entertain, but this film left me disappointed even for the skewed expectations I have as a fan of the man.