The Disaster Artist

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Really and truly, this should have come before 'Star Wars', but I decided to flip the two around. For one, 'Star Wars' is what it is in pop culture, so I wanted to talk about it first. But secondly, we're now in good old Oscar season, and this is already getting some buzz with some Golden Globe nominations. So perhaps now is the time to really discuss this title.

Here we have a story done in similar style to something like 'Ed Wood', only this time capturing what went on behind the scenes of the one and only, and for some, the end-all-be-all of good-bad movies, 'The Room'. It largely follows Greg Sestero (Dave Franco, and "Mark" in 'The Room') and his journey into show biz through meeting Tommy Wiseau (James Franco, and "Johnny" in 'The Room').

Tommy shows Greg how to go all out with acting and break through the barriers of stage fright. They both eventually chase their dreams of becoming Hollywood stars, but to no avail. This is when they decide to get it done themselves, and create 'The Room', which today, stands as a landmark on the negative side of cinematic history, lumped in with titles like 'Troll 2' and 'Manos: The Hands of Fate'.

All the while we have a wonderful supporting cast here, my favorite probably being Seth Rogen as Sandy. Do correct me if I'm wrong, but I think he was a producer for 'The Room'? Anyway, he fully plays an audience role here, totally straight, and questioning every silly decision Wiseau makes. You see it in the trailer, but some of the stuff throughout the film is pretty laugh-out-loud hilarious.

Even so, make no mistake. This is, for all intents and purposes, a "dramedy". By the end of the movie, no matter how much you may dislike Tommy, you can't help but feel kinda bad for the guy when you realize how real that feeling of being ridiculed must have been for him. However, not to worry, the movie does end on a high note. Also, I should mention that there's actually also a postcredit scene to this as well, so don't be like me and leave so promptly afterwards, 'cause I managed to catch it on YouTube and... well, it's worth it!

I know I'm not doing it a hell of a lot of justice in my exlanation of the whole thing, but I'm gonna say that if you're like me and love every little goofy detail about 'The Room' and it's horrible-ness, this is well-worth checking out. If you have NOT seen 'The Room', I highly, HIGHLY recommend checking it out before checking this out 'cause you'll probably just get a little more out of it. One of my faves this year, I hope to see some Oscars come from it!

5/5

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