Review of The Disaster Artist (2017) by Alex H — 06 Dec 2017

For those who have read my reviews and writing on film before you may remember me writing a piece for FACT Liverpool about why, to me, Tommy Wiseau's "The Room" is the number one cult movie of all time.

I hold a deep affinity for the film so when I heard they were making a film based upon the making of The Room and of the relationship between that of the film's Actor, Producer, Writer and Director Tommy Wiseau and his co-star, line producer and best friend Greg; I couldn't contain my excitement.

James Franco and his production partners Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg have struck gold and maybe just made the most human and fully realised film in their catalogue of movies. Simply put, The Disaster Artist is a joyous, wondrous and bittersweet but ultimately human story that can be appreciated even if you haven't seen The Room.

It could have been so easy to make a film based on The Room in a snobby "ha ha look how dumb these people are" way. Yet as director, Franco's treatment of the source material is so precious and loving that you care for every single character that appear on screen warts and all.

The film doesn't just rely on the humour from Franco and co. reenacting the various infamous scenes from The Room but the film also has humour to spare from a tightly written script with gags and one-liners that can go toe to toe with the unintentional comedic moments from Wiseau's original.

Not only director and producer, Franco also plays the star of the show the infamous Tommy Wiseau who solidly deserves all the current awards hype he is receiving. Franco is perfect and completely embodies the role from his body language to the various strange and nuanced inflections of Wiseau's "New Orleans" accent.

James' brother Dave Franco is equally great as Greg Sestero whose warmth and empathy for Tommy leaps off screen while Seth Rogen, Hannibal Buress and Zach Effron also provide great comedic performances.

In my view, The Disaster Artist never puts a foot wrong. From the world building and pacing to the humour and the engaging and earnest characters; I wouldn't change a thing about the film. This factor is so important too as you couldn't make a film about the worst movie ever made and have it be a shoddy movie.

Franco and his team have scored a touchdown, and possibly oscar nominations, by not only visualising something that many people could have laughed out of the room but by making the film as grounded and has human as they possibly can.

It is clear that everyone who worked on this film has such a deep affection for The Room and it makes me so happy to see the material justified in a sincere manner. Do not miss out and this "real American movie".