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| Gaze upon the face of madness. |
Directed by: Tommy Wiseau
Produced by: Tommy Wiseau
Written by: Tommy Wiseau
Budget: $6 million
Starring: Tommy Wiseau, Juliette Danielle, Greg Sestero
You probably expected this if you are at all familiar with bad movies.
Tommy Wiseau is a man of indeterminate origin who spent $6 million of his own money to produce one of the most noteworthy bad movies of all time.
The Room is the story of Johnny (Tommy Wiseau), a banker who lives in an apartment with his "future wife" Lisa (Juliette Danielle) in San Francisco. The two seem to have a loving relationship, though it soon becomes apparent that Lisa has become dissatisfied with the state of their relationship and yearns for something different. She starts an affair with Johnny's best friend, Mark (Greg Sestero) and the two have multiple covert encounters.
The film climaxes at Johnny's birthday party where, after growing suspicious of and eventually discovering the pair's indiscretions, Johnny confronts them. Lisa leaves and Johnny, distraught over the destruction of his friendships, commits suicide via handgun.
In between there are numerous scenes with varying relevance to the story, bizarre production and design choices, and some of the strangest line reads ever put to film.
The movie is a monument to the art of poor film making. It has been referred to as the Citizen Kane of bad movies. Let's break it down:
The dialogue is absurd in some places, flat in others, and often switches between lines. Critical information is relayed in casual conversation, deliveries are stilted across the board, and what should have been emotional outbursts are stated with all the enthusiasm you would expect from a high school assignment. Exchanges between characters often feel like the script was dissected and lines were randomly picked from a hat. Wiseau delivers his lines like he doesn't understand what he's written, and it's quite obvious that many of them have been dubbed, many of them quite poorly.
Multiple scene transitions are handled by utilizing b-roll of footage showcasing various San Francisco landmarks and streets with a score that sounds like something left at the bottom of the public domain. There is very little tonal consistency between the piano and flute melodies which stick out against the licensed tracks.
Plots and subplots appear and vanish with very little consistency. A single scene featuring Denny's confrontation with drug dealer Chris-R is swept away almost immediately after the gang reconciles on the rooftop. Despite he and Lisa having sex twice, Mark regularly reacts with confusion when she comes onto him. Claudette's breast cancer is given a single line. There are multiple scenes of the guys throwing a football around: in an alleyway, in a field, while wearing tuxedos. At one point during production the actor playing a certain character left, so they gave the character's pivotal lines during the climax to a different actor who had not appeared at any point earlier in the film.
Tommy Wiseau has been called an alien, a vampire, and it has been proposed that the entire project is a work of performance art from a very skilled comedian. After watching The Room I could see any of the three being true but I like to believe it's just an anomaly, one of those projects which comes about when someone with access to money manages to
The Room is very clearly a bad movie in many ways, but it is also an incredibly enjoyable watch and a perfect example of how a poorly made, poorly acted, and awkwardly written film can still be a fun experience.
The Good
Chris-R steals the show when he pulls a gun on Denny and gets taken to the police by Johnny and Mark. Lisa's tearful shouting, Claudette's stern, dismissive mothering, and Denny's pouting makes for one emotional whirlwind.
The Bad
Much of the entertainment comes within the first half hour as you adjust to the sudden mirror universe you have seemingly entered, but as the film drags on into its 99 minute run-time the numerous sex scenes and obvious ineptitude begin to wear away at the charm.
Have no doubt that this movie is ineptly made. When I say this is a bad movie, I mean this is a bad movie. The thing is, it is also an example of how even bad movies can be entertaining under the right circumstances.
The Rest
Greg Sestero wrote a book chronicling his experience making the movie called "The Disaster Artist" which goes in-depth into his experiences during production. There is currently an adaptation in development by Seth Rogan and James Franco, with Franco playing Wiseau.
Should You Watch It?
With a group. If you are at all a fan of bad movies, try and see if you can find a public screening. The movie has taken on aspects of the Rocky Horror fanbase, where the movie will play in a theater and the audience will dress up, quote along, etc.
I wouldn't really suggest watching it by yourself unless the reputation appeals to you. Having others around to experience it is far better than a solo watch.
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