Blog Directory CineVerse: "Room" for improvement

"Room" for improvement

Monday, June 14, 2021

Widely regarded as one of the biggest cinematic turkeys of all time, Tommy Wiseau’s The Room has become a cult hit and midnight movie favorite over the past several years. Interestingly, it spawned a biopic directed by and starring James Franco called The Disaster Artist that serves as a nice companion piece to The Room and a not-so-distant cousin to Tim Burton’s Ed Wood biopic from 1994.

The CineVerse stalwarts parsed through both of the former films last week and found the exercise a real hoot (to listen to our group discussion, click here), choosing to frame our conversation less around the merits of these two movies and more on the pleasures of “so-bad-they’re good” flicks. Here’s a roundup of some of our talking points.
 

What was unexpected, surprising, memorable, or distinctive about The Disaster Artist?

  • James Franco directed this film and stars opposite his brother Dave (who plays Greg). In fact, James Franco has helmed 16 other features and short films.
  • There are many cameos, celebrity appearances, and big names in small parts within The Disaster Artist, including by Seth Rogan, Judd Apatow, Kristen Bell, Lizzy Caplan, Adam Scott, J.J. Abrams, Bryan Cranston, Sharon Stone, Melanie Griffith, and Bob Odenkirk.
  • Interestingly, the film provides a prologue (of real filmmakers and actors talking about The Room) and an epilogue (shot-for-shot comparisons of The Room vs. The Disaster Artist).
  • This was not an unauthorized biopic. Wiseau himself approved of this movie.
  • While most of this film depicts the actual making of The Room and constitutes much of the comedy of The Disaster Artist, the heart of this picture is the relationship explored between Tommy and Greg and the extent to which their success and happiness or lack thereof are intertwined.
  • This is another modern example of a meta film (a film about a film).

Similar films

  • Ed Wood
  • Bowfinger
  • Living in Oblivion
  • Dolemite Is My Name
  • The Producers
  • Best F(R)Iends

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