The Disaster Artist (2017)

“The Disaster Artist” stars James Franco, Dave Franco, Seth Rogen, Alison Brie, Ari Graynor, Josh Hutcherson, and Jacki Weaver.  Released on December 1, 2017, the film chronicles the making of the 2003 cult film The Room.

The film is directed by James Franco, who also directed films such as The Ape, Child of God, The Sound and the Fury, and The Institute.  It is based on the 2013 non-fiction book of the same name by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell.  There's no telling how much I wanted to see this since the first trailer was released.  More than a decade ago, Tommy Wiseau and his companion, Greg Sestero, had done the impossible despite their lack of film talents: making their own movie starring themselves.  While The Room is considered one of the worst movies ever made, according to a lot of people who have saw it, it has unexpectedly gained a cult following for its unbelievable amount of “badness”.  I haven’t exactly seen it for myself, but I did remember watching the Nostalgia Critic’s view of the movie a while back, and from the looks of the footage, I can understand why.  So now we are getting a whole new look at the events before, during, and after the making of The Room, including the bizarre friendship between Wiseau and Sestero.  This was one of my highly-anticipated films to see during awards season because, unsurprisingly, I love watching movies, and the fact that the Franco brothers are starring in the film made me want to see it even more.  Now that it’s finally here, does it live up to my expectations?

As mentioned before, the film depicts the important events that happened during the making of the cult “classic”.  More importantly, it focuses on the bizarre friendship between Greg Sestero (Dave Franco) and Tommy Wiseau (James Franco).  Both of these people share the same dream of being in the film business despite Wiseau’s lack of acting talent.  For a movie that’s called “The Disaster Artist”, it wasn’t really that much of a disaster unlike the behind-the-scenes moments that were showcased.  Rather, it’s an impressive disastrous movie-within-a-movie that’s invigorating, funny, and heartfelt, and I loved every minute of it.  This is the film that truly resembles the realities of Hollywood and the film business as well as the bond that holds two unlikely pals together.  James Franco delivered the best performance in his career as Wiseau, which is something that you need to see to believe.  This is one of those performances where you don’t see the actor portraying the character on screen, you see an actual person.  It’s also amazing that Franco sounds and looks almost exactly like the actual Tommy Wiseau.  All I can say is that I’ll be rooting for him during the awards season.  Dave Franco also delivered a great performance as Greg Sestero, Wiseau’s companion.  The chemistry between the Franco brothers is something that I really enjoy because of how they portray their characters that have the same agenda, but have different personalities.  I can also say that James Franco has an impressive knack at storytelling when it comes to his direction.  Not just because of his realistic depiction of the film business, but also his vision on the film’s themes, which include the values of friendship and following your dreams.  Because of the engaging chemistry and depth between the two main characters, Franco was able to depict a friendship that is so unusual that it surprisingly made me want to support it.  The film’s screenplay was nicely written and the amount of humor that was thrown in there was hilarious from start to finish, and yes, I did laugh at Wiseau’s “acting”.

Overall, “The Disaster Artist” is a perfect disastrous experience that celebrates the unexpected and the people who have big dreams despite their lack of talent.  Thanks to its strong performances, Franco’s superb direction, its captivating screenplay, and its brilliant mixture of comedy and heart, I can easily say that this is one of the best films I’ve seen this year.  Keep in mind that this is a movie about the worst movie ever.  This is definitely a must-watch for people who are familiar with The Room and for those who enjoy some of Franco’s other works, either as an actor or a director.  Oh hi, Mark.

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