The Disaster Artist (Dir. James Franco, 1h 45m)

The Room is, without a doubt, a key part of the pantheon of the worst films ever made, and, alongside the extraordinary Ugandan microbudget action movie, Who Killed Captain Alex? (2010), undoubtedly has one of the most bizarre, inspiring, and bewildering backstory of any film among that motley crew. Thus, as Tim Burton and Johnny Depp brought the life of the likable if maverick director, Ed Wood, and the events around the making of his enjoyably bad masterpiece, Plan 9 From Outer Space, to life in Ed Wood, so brothers Dave and James Franco bring the extraordinary story of the "Citizen Kane of bad movies", The Room to life. The Disaster Artist is a film, thus, that not only recounts the escapades, chaos, and single-minded insanity of The Room's making, but is also a meditation upon the very nature of film-making.

At the centre of The Disaster Artist is the Franco brothers as Greg Sestero (Dave Franco), a young aspiring actor who crosses paths with the unusual and individualistic figure of Tommy Wiseau, (James Franco). Both performances are beautifully observed, with James bringing across every little eccentricity, every vocal tic, whilst Dave brings across the move from wide-eyed innocent to jaded and clearly sick of Wiseau and what he represents. Their dual performance carries the film, from their initial encounter in an acting class to their budding friendship and move to Los Angeles, to the creation and filming of The Room, with Wiseau's increasingly myopic and dictatorial directing style driving their friendship to destruction, concluding with the first showing of the film, and a healing of the rift between them.


Much of the film is perfectly observed-indeed, before the credits roll, we are gifted with a side-by-side recreation of some of the key scenes, and the degree to which Franco and Franco, together with the rest of their cast, perfectly recreate this is jaw dropping, down to individual mannerisms, movements and voices, whilst the period detail of the late 1990s and early 2000s is, with a few exceptions (mostly musical choices), perfect.
The other key element this film perfectly recreates is the film-making process, from the frustrations of repeated reshoots, to the often tense atmosphere of a set, to the often messianic or Machivellian role a director can have on set-if nothing else, The Room is a paean to the independent film making process, and the pitfalls that befall directors and crews, as well as how a vision can cloud a director to sense as they chase their dreams.   

Most of all, however, the film is an anthem, a salute to Wiseau and Sestero, and their film, and to the veritable hordes who have seen it-the film, is, after all, bookended with adoring, if famous, fans, including JJ Abrams and Kevin Smith, and at its denouement, with footage of the cheering, football throwing, "Oh Hai Mark"-ing audiences that greet the duo whenever and wherever the film goes, often to sold-out audiences. For all the sly digs that the film takes at Greg and Tommy, all the times that Wiseau is labelled a freak, a monster, a villain, for all the violence he threatens, for all the mystery around him, and the slightly predatory nature that the film hints at occasionally below the surface, he comes out of it as a shining, if slightly odd, and completely mad genius. James Franco makes us like Tommy Wiseau-this alone is enough of a reason to like The Disaster Artist.

It goes deeper, however. The Francos clearly adore The Room, adore every weirdly phrased, badly written, badly acted second of it, and nowhere is this clearer than the film's final scene, where Wiseau and Sestero begin to realise that, despite Tommy's belief that they hate him, their film is a hit, just not in the way either of them expected. They re-enter the cinema, to rapturous applause, and after a few words, the duo are reunited, in front of a cheering audience. Fact or fiction, the Francos' parting shot is clear. Art, no matter how good or bad, will be admired by someone, even if its not for the reason people expect-The Room is no different, and is all the more remarkable for its very existence..

Haha. What a story, huh?

Rating: Highly Recommended