'The Disaster Artist' Review

[This review was originally written in December 2017 and is now being published that my internship is over. For an explanation of this, visit my Fall 2017 Important Update post.]

Nominated For: Best Adapted Screenplay.

The Disaster Artist follows aspiring film actor Greg Sestero as he meets the strange and mysterious Tommy Wiseau in an acting class. The two quickly become friends and decide to move to Hollywood in order to pursue their acting ambitions. Once they decide they've faced enough rejection, the two decide to realize their dream by making their own movie. The Disaster Artist then details the conception of one of the worst films ever made, The Room.

The Disaster Artist is a film I've been looking forward to seeing for quite some time. While I hadn't seen The Room till far more recently, I had heard about it amongst conversation with the cult fanbase and was well aware of its existence so the idea of a film about the making of the disasterpiece intrigued me to say the least, and the trailer only increased my anticipation. However, I was slightly concerned that the Franco brothers and Seth Rogan might coast on purely recreating the most memorable moments from The Room. As per usual, my worries were unwarranted though.

One of the more interesting aspects of The Disaster Artist was how James Franco championed Wiseau's strategy of directing, producing, and starring in the movie. While he didn't fully follow in Wiseau's footsteps by writing The Disaster Artist's script, Franco was fortunate enough that Scott Neustadeter and Michael H. Weber adapted Tom Bissell and Greg Sestero's book. In order to make this work, everyone involved would require an insurmountable appreciation of The Room... and thankfully, it seems everyone behind the camera genuinely cared about telling a hilarious and heartfelt story surrounding a passion project that didn't pan out as the artist had hoped.

The Disaster Artist could have easily just mocked Tommy Wiseau and his entirely unique vision that is The Room, but instead Franco and the writers realized there was an emotional core to this story. It'd admittedly be difficult to discover and depict onscreen because that would involve analyzing and understanding one of the most mysterious men in Hollywood, but it was there. Everyone (even exceptionally talented people) can relate to putting their all behind something and being underwhelmed by the results, and that's exactly what Franco keys in on. He excellently explores what it's like to chase your dreams and end up with an undesirable outcome. The Disaster Artist is a film that takes Wiseau's willingness to put himself out there in wacky, weird ways and shows admiration for it. Not many would dare to do that, so I can't help but respect Franco for respecting Tommy Wiseau (which I'll touch more on in a moment).

For fans of The Room hoping to see their favorite moments recreated, there's a lot of fun to be had in that department... Especially with the endless stream of surprise celebrity cameos. Though The Room is certainly not essential viewing in order for you to enjoy yourself. Even if you haven't seen it, you'll likely laugh at the insane shenanigans and perhaps be inspired to go watch that film afterwards. With that being said, I think you'll have a deeper appreciation for everything if you have watched it. Also worth noting is the fact that there is a post credits scene. I had no idea a few weeks ago when I went to see the film, so I left before the credits were finished. I wasn't exactly expecting to Tommy Wiseau to be recruited by Nick Fury or anything so I didn't stay, but I personally like to watch those regardless of what they are, so I'm letting you know because I would have liked to have known when I first saw it.

At the center of The Disaster Artist is a totally transformative performance from James Franco that's managed to already earn a lot of awards acclaim, and quite frankly, it's the one I'm rooting for in the Best Actor race. Franco could have simply done a lazy impersonation of Wiseau, but his performance is surprisingly layered beyond nailing Wiseau's unique accent and quirky mannerisms. Franco seems to have a fundamental understanding of Wiseau's humanity, and the way he communicates it while maintaining the Wiseau's peculiar personality is absolutely incredible.

Dave Franco does a solid job ensuring Greg is a relatable, empathetic audience surrogate in this crazy story, and Seth Rogan is funny as Wiseau's script supervisor Sandy. As I mentioned earlier, there are countless other celebrity cameos, but I won't reveal them here so it remains a surprise if you choose to watch the film.

"It's not true! It's bull-sh*t!" The Disaster Artist is not a disaster as some may gleam from the title. The Disaster Artist is actually a great big Hollywood movie about a really terrible one (that was a line from The Room for those confused).