The Disaster Artist (2017)

The Room is one of those movies that is like a right of passage. If you're a fan of campy movies or you want to call yourself a movie lover, you have to watch it. I watched it just to prepare for The Disaster Artist. I thought there's no way its as bad as people say. Ya... it really is. I didn't fall in love with it as Franco and his friends obviously have but I wasn't angry while I was watching it. There are some moments where you can't help but laugh (I did naaaat! Oh hi Mark) and there were many times where I couldn't help but cover my face because of how awkward it gets (any part where anyone imitates a chicken). But it is the definition of awful film making. I just felt sorry for everyone involved, they obviously threw everything they had into it, they just didn't have the required talent to pull it off. Having seen The Disaster Artist, those suspicions are now confirmed.

The Disaster Artist is really Greg's account of how crazy the process of making The Room was and how his friendship with Tommy developed. I think you'll get the most out of this movie if you have seen The Room because with all the behind-the-scenes stories, it gives context to how the bizarre choices in the movie happened. This is effective because you can't help but ask yourself who thought making this movie was a good idea? after you've seen The Room. From Tommy's new style of on camera love making to why they replicated the alley from outside of the studio to film in rather than the actual alley, you find out why. I've seen movies that delve in deeper to the process of how to make a movie but I enjoyed this all the same.

The biggest surprise of this movie is they are so heartfelt when they really delve into Tommy's psyche and his relationship with Greg. I have to echo Seth Rogen when he said that it would have been really easy to just relentlessly mock Wiseau and call him a freak. There's a scene with Bob Odenkirk and a room full of acting students where they address that. But Tommy wants to be the hero so badly that you feel sorry for him. Although he isn't always the good guy, he really went for it and that is admirable. His friendship with Greg also is heartwarming. At the beginning of the movie, every time Greg was hanging out with Tommy I wanted to yell STRANGER DANGER! But you can see why these guys would be friends and when Greg consoles Tommy in the end, its a really nice moment and it highlights one of the big strengths of the film.

If you haven't seen The Room, the first thing that's going to grab your attention in the trailer is how wacky James Francos is playing Tommy Wiseau. If you have seen The Room, you know how close he is to Tommy as he nails his accent, his style and his weird mannerisms. Some people have suggested a Best Actor nomination but I don't know if I'd go that far. He gives a funny and engaging lead performance. Dave Franco is just as good as Greg Sistero. He's great at playing a very innocent and starstruck young actor who finds a kindred spirit in Tommy. Dave's a better actor than he's given credit for and he's both funny and sincere in this movie. Past those two lead performances, this movie is a parade of famous actors in supporting roles or cameos. Seth Rogen is really funny as Sandy, he's the one who calls Tommy out on his bizarre behaviour the most. Alison Brie is decent in her small role as Amber. Jacki Weaver and Ari Graynor were both amusing and sweet. My favourites of the cameos were Zac Efron an

Fmovies: There was an odd buzz surrounding this film, that in my opinion was totally unmerited. It just scratches the surface of the story and embellishes some things. I'm someone who is not a fan of The Room because, well it's really bad. That being said I really wanted to see what Franco had to offer here as far as unpacking what the hell caused the debacle of a film. Really Disaster Artist was an empty look and borders on biography and parody. I found the end to be very very overdone and from what I know, entirely fabricated.

The Disaster Artist is absolutely incredible. I don't want to go into detail because honestly this is one of those movies that is best seen relatively blind. What I will say is that the performances are great, the chemistry between Tommy and Greg is pitch perfect, and Seth Rogen and the rest of the supporting cast do an excellent job. The tone of the film is absolutely spot on. The last scene of this movie, and what comes after the end card, absolutely blew me away; this film is so much fun. I just saw this movie, and I already want to see it again. I rarely say this, but I can't think of literally anything this movie could've done differently that would've made it better. Everything it set out to do is done incredibly well. I highly, highly recommend this film. 10/10

The Disaster Artist fmovies. "The Disaster Artist" is a true story based on the making of the notoriously bad cult film "The Room," directed by Tommy Wiseasu. Wiseau is played by James Franco and Wiseau's friend Greg Sestero is played by Dave Franco. This was interesting, because I had heard so much about "the Room" and its cult status as one of the worst movies ever made. The trailer for the Disaster Artist was really intriguing, and I walked out pretty pleased.

This movie has the Franco Brothers and Seth Rogen, and we all know the reputation that comes with them. They make stoner comedies and basically all play the same characters in every movie they're in. That is not the case here. All of those clichés from those movies that we see from these guys are thrown out of the window. It was a nice change of pace and pleasant surprise for all of these guys after watching their work and seeing the same stale comedies delivered to audiences.

I also wouldn't "technically" categorize this movie as a "comedy." It's definitely more of a dramedy with comedic scenes mixed in, but this is because Tommy Wiseau, who is so magnificently played by James Franco in what is probably his best performance to date (yes I went there), is such a weird, mysterious, eccentric, and strange individual that his words and actions and his weird passion to make a movie come off as comedic. It's the more intense drama scenes that really work well within this movie. I will add that the comedic scenes shown the trailer are not the only funny scenes in the movie. There's definitely more humor in the movie aside from those scenes.

My issue with this movie really just comes down to pacing. It took a while for the buildup, and I get it, it's character development and you have to explain the relationship between Tommy and Greg, and that's character development, but it just felt a little too long. There were instances where I was checking my watch and thought to myself "i thought Seth Rogen was in this movie." I would also say that the character of Amber, played by Alison Brie, really didn't move the story forward all that much and I felt like she wasn't needed.

Overall, I enjoyed it. Laughed my ass off in some parts. Both Francos and Seth Rogen for that matter are really good in the movie, it's a behind the scenes type of movie that shows you how not to make a movie. I thought they did a really good job of capturing just how strange and determined Tommy Wiseasu was.

I am going to give "The Disaster Artist" a B+.

Check out my review of "The Disaster Artist" here on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT5-PfMK180

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" (2017 release; 103 min.) brings the real-life story of how the 2003 cult movie "The Room" got made. As the movie opens, a number of current day movie stars, including Kirsten Bell, Adam Scott. J.J. Abrams and others gush about the virtues of this "so bad, that it's so good" movie. We then shift to "San Francisco, July 13, 1998" when Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero meet at an acting class and strike up a friendship. Later that year, they decide on w him to move to Los Angeles, where Tommy somehow has kept an apartment. Tommy and Greg pursue their dream of becoming an actor (inspired by James Dean, among others), but when it's becoming clear that nobody wants to do anything with them, they decide to make their own film... At this point, we are 15 min. into the movie, but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this movie is a labor of love primarily by James Franco, who directs, co-produces, and stars as Tommy. His brother Dave co-stars as Greg. The real life story is so beyond anything believable that if this were a work of fiction, it would immediately be dismissed as just that. Let me state upfront that I have not seen "The Room" (although I see it frequently listed as a midnight listing at my local art-house theater). From everything we witness in "The Disaster Artist", Tommy is so incredibly inapt yet convinced of his own talent, it reminds me of those American Idol auditions back in the day where certain contestants think they are super good yet they were horrible. Another similarity is the Meryl Streep movie "Florence Foster Jenkins" (about a real life wealthy NY socialite who thinks she sings well and nobody dares to contradict her, leading to a notorious Carnegie Hall concert). James Franco does an outstanding job in the lead role, and I'm going to predict that he will get a number of nominations in the upcoming awards season. It isn't until the very end of the movie (when scenes from the original "The Room" are played in parallel with the recreated scenes for "The Disaster Artist") that one gets a sense how incredibly meticulous Franco has been in recreating them down to the last detail. Absolutely amazing. Last but certainly not least, the movie features a bunch of other well-known performers, some of them in very noticeable roles (such as Seth Rogen and Alison Brie), and others in "blink and you'll miss it" roles (such as Sharon Stone, Zoey Deutch, Zac Efron, etc.). In an early scene of the movie, when Tommy and Greg become unlikely friends, they head over to Tommy's place, and Greg notices a prominent sign on the apartment's wall: "I Do Not Choose To Be a Common Man". Whatever you think of Tommy, he certainly is not your "common man"!

"The Disaster Artist" opened this weekend at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati on not one, but two screens (a rarity). The Friday evening screening where i saw this at was attended very nicely, I;'m happy to report. The audience roared with laughter on many occasions. The positive word-of-mouth this movie surely will generate makes it likely to have long legs at the box office (at least within the art-house theater circuit). If you are in the mood for something truly different, I encourage you to check out "The Disaster Artist", be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventua