The Disaster Artist

THE DISASTER ARTIST (15)

D: James Franco

Warner Bros/New Line/Ratpac-Dune/Good Universe (James Franco, Vince Jolivette, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg & James Weaver)

USA 🇺🇸 2017

103 mins


W: Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber [based on the book "The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, The Greatest Bad Film Ever Made" by Greg Sestero & Tom Bissell]

DP: Brandon Trost

Ed: Stacey Schroeder

Mus: Dave Porter


Biopic/Comedy


James Franco (Tommy Wiseau), Dave Franco (Greg Sestero), Seth Rogen (Sandy Schklair), Ari Greynor (Juliette Danielle), Alison Brie (Amber), Josh Hutcherson (Philip Haldiman), Jacki Weaver (Carolyn Minnott), Zac Efron (Dan Janjigian)


It's a rich irony that one of the worst films ever made is the basis for one of the best films of 2017.

James Franco doesn't just portray Tommy Wiseau in this comedy biopic, he actually becomes him.

It's quite important to have seen 2003's The Room, dubbed the Citizen Kane of bad movies, before watching this "making of", or some of the references to the awful movie may not catch on.

The Room (qv) was wholly financed by struggling actor, Tommy Wiseau who spent over $6 million on the production, which he also wrote, starred in and directed, but with no filmmaking knowledge, fundamental filmmaking practices weren't just overlooked, but almost mocked (over half of The Room's running time has no bearing on the actual plot of the movie, entire sets were built for little reason, the film was shot on 35mm film and digital video, which require two different lighting methods, etc)

The comedy of errors all begins with the friendship which develops between Wiseau and struggling young actor, Greg Sestero. The two men strike a bond over their admiration of James Dean, which partially inspired Wiseau to write The Room, alongside his infatuation with famous playwright Tennessee Williams.

Though The Room is a terrible piece of work, it has gone on to achieve a cult fanbase, and this tribute to the best worst movie is bang on the money, with an excellent central performance and one of the funniest screenplays of the year. It's very much worth sitting through a terrible movie for.

7/10


James Franco in The Disaster Artist
James Franco in The Disaster Artist