'The Disaster Artist' Is A Truly Fantastic Movie About A Truly Horrible One
- Starring Dave Franco, James Franco, Seth Rogan, Alison Brie, Jacki Weaver, Paul Scheer, Zac Efron, Josh Hutcherson
- Rated R
- Comedy/Biography/Drama
- Run time: 1 hr, 43 min
- Directed by James Franco
- In theaters December 1, 2017 (select theaters) and December 8, 2017 (everywhere)
Movie fans know of The Room for the most infamous of reasons - for its reign as the greatest bad film to ever be created. Thanks partially to the backstory of its eccentric and mysterious writer, producer, star and director Tommy Wiseau, The Room has developed a cult following. And now, The Disaster Artist celebrates every aspect of this trainwreck of a film.
It'd be easy for a based-on-a-true-story film about a terrible movie to have a mocking tone, poking fun at the determined and well-intentioned Wiseau who invested everything he had (both emotionally and monetarily) in The Room. But James Franco manages to take a close look at both Wiseau as a person and the making of the film in a way that makes the audience almost cry with laughter while still seeming to be a fair representation of what actually happened.
The plot is simple: an eccentric (and wealthy) actor befriends another actor named Greg and after moving to Los Angeles and striking out at audition after audition, the two decide to make their own movie, which becomes a rather bizarre adventure in and of itself.
One of the greatest aspects of this film is the fact that every fifteen minutes, you'll go, "Wait, isn't that-?" and odds are, yes. The cast for this movie is truly incredible and seemingly never-ending, featuring some amazing comedic actors that appear for short stints throughout the movie. Franco pulled out all the stops with the casting, and fans of The Room will appreciate the cameos by stars from the original movie.
The Franco brothers themselves carry the main plot exceptionally well, and make it shockingly easy to forget that the two leads are actually related. Greg (Dave Franco) responds to Tommy (James Franco) in ways that truly sells the somewhat uncertain friendship and working relationship. And the portrayal of Tommy is laugh-out-loud funny and shockingly accurate, down to the baffling accent that Tommy insists is from living in New Orleans.
The Disaster Artist is easily one of the most enjoyable movie experiences of 2017, if not the last few years. Settle down with some popcorn and prepare to laugh at just about every other line. And be sure to stay all the way to the end to see side by side comparisons of scenes from both movies - which will further prove that this may be one of Franco's greatest projects to date.