If you’re a movie lover, then you surely know what Tommy Wiseau’s The Room is. The movie transcends the “so bad it’s good” type of film due to its inane dialogue, outrageous and over-the-top plotting, non-sensical story, and a strange fascination for football. The film found success in the midnight cinema crowds and has its place in history, especially the man behind the film itself. There’s a lot of mystery surrounding the writer/director, namely his personal life. It took over ten years for Wiseau to reveal that he first lived in Europe, which is the most information we know about him. Wiseau was oddly wealthy, though no one till this day knows how he got the money for The Room, which was self-financed for $6 million. Despite the mystery surrounding Tommy Wiseau, the true subject of The Disaster Artist is how he and Greg Sestero came to form the iconic feature. The 2017 film could’ve easily been a mockumentary about the subject itself. There have been plenty of wild reports regarding Wiseau and The Room; however, The Disaster Artist is surprisingly more of a tender and often heartwarming character-driven film that also happens to be funny.
The film never mocks Wiseau in the slightest. The Disaster Artist showcases the filmmaker’s wants and desires and taps into the human side of what made The Room director tick. Say what you will about Tommy Wiseau, but there’s no denying that the guy is a spirited and fearless individual. From the first moment that we meet him, the guy is an eccentric force. His wild and random showcase is Tommy Wiseau at his most characterful moment. The whole performance is odd, jarring, and honestly, bad, but you simply can’t take your eyes off of it because it’s genuinely fascinating to watch. James Franco was simply perfect for this role. I know the actor isn’t exactly seen in a good light at the moment; however, Franco’s personal life has nothing to do with this movie, so I won’t address it. The only reason I made this statement is to touch on the obvious elephant in the room. Going back to Franco’s performance, the guy simply disappears into the role. It isn’t just his look, but the speech patterns and body mannerisms that make you feel that you’re watching a documentary unfold in front of your eyes. It also helps that the writing is pretty strong across the board.
As I previously mentioned, The Disaster Artist dives into the soul of Tommy Wiseau. Granted, you won’t find out where he was born, or where he mysteriously got $6 million, but you’ll understand that Wiseau’s behavior isn’t just random acts of strangeness. The guy truly does want to be an actor, but he just doesn’t understand that he’s not a good one. But it isn’t just about his acting desires, it also showcases his ego and how it affects the way he feels. Tommy Wiseau has good intentions throughout the movie. Unfortunately, his lack of knowledge of filmmaking blinds him from understanding what truly makes a great film. From the quieter moments between him and Greg, to the outrageous and boisterous ones, Franco puts his heart into his role and showcases why he’s such a talented actor. Of course, I can’t forget about Dave Franco as Greg Sestero, who also does a great job as the shy, but inspirating actor. It’s understandable why Greg became friends with Tommy, though you also feel his frustration and anger when he reacts to Tommy’s onset behavior. One thing that I do wish is that the film spent more time with the other actors on The Room. We briefly get a scene with the actors expressing why they’re taking Tommy’s crap, but it would’ve been cool to get some more intimate thoughts about certain scenes or moments, most notably the woman that plays Lisa. This is just a minor nitpick as not including thoughts doesn’t affect the film in the slightest. The actual process of watching The Room mostly focuses on key moments that mainly serves the plot, which is fine, but I would’ve loved to know what was going through Tommy’s mind through some of his legendary scenes, especially the “You’re tearing me apart Lisa!” scene. The side-by-side reenactments of these infamous scenes are a great watch though. In the end, The Disaster Artist goes against the grain of making fun of its subject and offers an engaging character study that has plenty of laughs to spare.
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