Written by, directed by, produced by and starring the wonderfully mysterious Tommy Wiseau, “The Room,” created in 2003, is without a doubt the best worst movie I have ever watched.
Costing Wiseau six million of his own dollars, and making only $1,800 in box office, this film seems to be a massive failure. But I feel otherwise.
A couple years ago, my sister sent me a YouTube video and told me it was funny and I had to watch it. I took her advice, and I am so happy I did.
The video was a compilation of the best scenes from “The Room.” I thought for sure it was some sort of parody or joke, but I was soon baffled to find out that it was a legitimate movie.
If you aren’t going to sit through the whole movie, I suggest you at least watch the 10 minute video of all the best scenes.
You might be thinking, but why would I watch only 10 minutes of a movie? How would I be able to understand the plot?
Well, my answer is, you won’t. But this doesn’t matter because even if you were to watch the entire 99 minute film, odds are even then you wouldn’t completely understand the plot.
One aspect of this extremely poorly edited film is that most of the dialogue is actually voice over. Not to mention the acting is awful, considering Tommy and his brother are the main characters, neither of who belong on the big screen.
I know it sounds like I am basically just bashing on the movie, but I actually love it. That being said, I am able to recognize how unconventional and technically flawed it is; it is those parts of the film that make it so entertaining. Tommy’s acting, although intended to be dramatic, comes off as far more comedic than anything else.
The only reason he was even able to make the movie himself is because he is so wealthy, although nobody really quite knows why. Of course, he did lose a lot of money through the making of “The Room.”
I find it almost inspiring though, because all he wanted to do was to be an actor and for people to know his name. Although I’m sure this isn’t the way he intended for it to pan out, he was successful in the end.
The movie wasn’t very successful at first, but over the years, it has gained a cult following.
Many people, myself included, are captivated by the unique and incredibly unorganized story line of the film. The fact that the lines themselves make nearly zero sense, and the clear overacting by the cast makes for a laughable performance in nearly all of the scenes.
So what separates this bad film from the rest of the bad movies out there that are labeled just as they are, bad movies?
In my opinion, “The Room” is known for a few scenes that are especially funny and make the least sense. If you have ever heard someone randomly blurt out, “Oh hi Mark,” odds are they are referencing arguably the worst and most famous scene in the film.
It is little lines like that which made the film so well known, the lines that although seem so poorly written, but at the same time seem so genius and entertaining.
I’m not going to spoil anything, but the ending scene is comprised of maybe some of the worst acting Tommy Wiseau has ever done, followed by maybe an even worse ending. I was shocked, and also kinda of sad, which, I am realizing now, is probably exactly how Tommy wanted his audience to feel. So, I guess he isn’t so bad after all?
In 2017, James and Dave Franco starred in a movie called “The Disaster Artist,” a film about Tommy and the people helping to make his movie star dreams come true.
After watching “The Room,” I highly suggest watching “The Disaster Artist,” partially because it is interesting to have an idea of what the heck Tommy Wiseau was thinking when he created his abomination, but also just because James Franco’s impeccable impresion of Tommy’s strange voice and laugh is so spot on and entertaining.
Bottom line: I can appreciate the fact that perhaps “The Room” isn’t for everyone, but it is without a doubt worth watching as it is almost geniusly awful, something I can’t say about many movies.
