'The Disaster Artist' Is a Hilarious, Heartfelt, and Thoughtful Film About the Production of a Legendary Terrible Film

If you are a huge film buff, you’ve probably seen or, at least, heard of The Room.  It has become the classic example of a film so godawful that it unintentionally becomes comedy gold.  I’ve seen it only once, but I’ve re-watched many key scenes several times over because they don’t fail to make me chuckle, if not completely laugh, for being so hilariously weird, nonsensical, and ridiculous.

Seriously, The Room is so terrible, it’s almost brilliant.  In fact, it has been called “the Citizen Kane of bad movies.”

Greg Sestero, the actor who played Mark in the film, wrote a book called The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made which details how he came to meet Tommy Wiseau – the writer, director, producer, and star of The Room – their relationship, and the development and production of the film.  And this is adapted into film by James Franco, who plays Tommy, while also serving as producer and director.  Meanwhile, his brother Dave plays Greg.

This is a mesmerizing, hilarious film, simply because of its curious, bonkers object of interest – Tommy Wiseau.  He’s a real-life cartoon character.  He’s such an odd and mysterious guy.  Up until now, nobody knows where he came from, where he gets his endless supply of money, how old he really is, and what’s the deal with his mental condition.

James Franco has been fantastic in portraying him.  Now, I’ve seen better Wiseau impersonations from other people, but if you know Franco – his personality and work – it’s as if Wiseau is a kindred spirit of his, and playing Wiseau just feels the perfect role for the kind of actor – artist – that he is.

Also, I really like the part where particular scenes from The Room are re-enacted and then compared side by side with the original scenes.  It was uncanny to behold.

In the end, you don’t need to watch The Room or know Tommy Wiseau to like The Disaster Artist.  It’s inherently and independently funny and interesting.  But the enjoyment is definitely enhanced if you are familiar with the infamous film and filmmaker it’s referencing and lampooning.

However, The Disaster Artist isn’t necessarily a film that is made just to expose and make fun of the absurd, troubled production of one of the worst movies ever made.  It certainly pays homage as well to the legendary status it has made for itself (there’s a hilarious post-credit scene involving a Wiseau cameo).  Moreover, it’s not only funny, it’s also a surprisingly thoughtful and heartfelt film about friendship and pursuing one’s dreams.