Review of The Disaster Artist (2017) by Brendan H — 15 Dec 2017

The infamy, mystery and laughter that has since generated from the little independent movie that could, 2003s The Room, is nothing short of Hollywood folklore, being the go-to "so bad it's a masterpiece" movie to watch ever since.

Who is this mysterious writer, producer, director and star Tommy Wiseau? What was the production like? Did anyone have any idea what kind of movie they were making? Although all of The Room's mysteries have yet to be uncovered, the films line producer and co-star, Greg Sestero, partially pulled back the curtain with his account on things in his 2013 memoir The Disaster Artist, which this 2017 film adaptation is based upon.

Paralleling the film it is based on, James Franco both stars and directs this rags to riches story about a mysterious and charismatic outsider, Tommy Wiseau (Franco transforms himself into the role), who befriends a young actor, Greg Sestero (performed with giddy enthusiasm by Dave Franco), and depicts the inception, trials and tribulations that eventually led to The Room.

With thirty-two films under his belt as director (yes, thirty-two!), Franco brings a consistent and steady hand to proceedings-never making an outright parody, which could have been the simpler option-and instead creates a very balanced drama with comedic beats, opting for the more daring approach and it makes the film all the better for it.

Screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber took some liberties with streamlining the narrative for a cinematic medium and they more or less nail the major talking pieces and wisely left plenty of mystery to things, which seems to be part of The Room's secret sauce.

Filled with cameos (a lot of the fun is seeing who is going to show up), an immersive narrative and strong direction, The Disaster Artist is a very enjoyable experience for fans of The Room, fans of bio-pics and fans of seeing a recreation of the most enjoyably worst movie ever made.