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The Disaster Artist
Dir. James Franco
When James Franco decided to make a movie about the most famous bad movie of them all, I expected something subversive, funny yet subtle, delving into the mind of Tommy Wiseau (the mind behind The Room), sadly The Disaster Artist is none of those things. Yet it is funny, at times it is even hilarious but then again, when you are replicating scenes, frame by frame, from The Room, with Franco's hilarious Tommy accent, how can it not be? The problem is, beyond replicating what many cinema-goers have already seen via YouTube and maybe even late night screenings, there is little substance here.
The movie opens with a meeting between Tommy (James Franco) and Greg (brother Dave), who quickly develop an unlikely friendship, seemingly based on how much Greg admires Tommy's balls for being bat **** crazy. That is it, that is all we really know about the two and why they remain friends. Towards the end of the movie, there is no reason for Greg to go back to Tommy, after having been treated like utter trash...but he does. A shrug and a smile later, they are friends again.
A supporting cast which included Alison Brie, Seth Rogen and a weird, nonsensical cameo from Bryan Cranston add little to the story. A little digging shows that Brie's character is entire fictitious, Cranston's part in the film is also made up (why is it included at all?) and while Rogen delivers a few funny quips and expressions, his character is relegated to the background.
Ultimately, much like The Room itself, this movie will make you laugh but leave you feeling cold. Seeing the end credits roll, you start to wonder why you wasted a 103 minutes of your life. I hate to be this negative about it, but apart from aping The Room and making fun of the subject matter, there isn't much here. I guess that is representative of James Franco himself. Funny, weird and intriguing but delve a little deeper and there is nothing beyond the odd stare.
A completely missed opportunity to dig deep into the life of one of cinema's most mysterious and engaging entities. Tommy Wiseau deserves a deeper introspective, maybe a documentary based on Greg Sestero's book would be better.
Oh, Hi 5/10 mediocre score...anyway, how's your sex life?
Dir. James Franco
When James Franco decided to make a movie about the most famous bad movie of them all, I expected something subversive, funny yet subtle, delving into the mind of Tommy Wiseau (the mind behind The Room), sadly The Disaster Artist is none of those things. Yet it is funny, at times it is even hilarious but then again, when you are replicating scenes, frame by frame, from The Room, with Franco's hilarious Tommy accent, how can it not be? The problem is, beyond replicating what many cinema-goers have already seen via YouTube and maybe even late night screenings, there is little substance here.
The movie opens with a meeting between Tommy (James Franco) and Greg (brother Dave), who quickly develop an unlikely friendship, seemingly based on how much Greg admires Tommy's balls for being bat **** crazy. That is it, that is all we really know about the two and why they remain friends. Towards the end of the movie, there is no reason for Greg to go back to Tommy, after having been treated like utter trash...but he does. A shrug and a smile later, they are friends again.
A supporting cast which included Alison Brie, Seth Rogen and a weird, nonsensical cameo from Bryan Cranston add little to the story. A little digging shows that Brie's character is entire fictitious, Cranston's part in the film is also made up (why is it included at all?) and while Rogen delivers a few funny quips and expressions, his character is relegated to the background.
Ultimately, much like The Room itself, this movie will make you laugh but leave you feeling cold. Seeing the end credits roll, you start to wonder why you wasted a 103 minutes of your life. I hate to be this negative about it, but apart from aping The Room and making fun of the subject matter, there isn't much here. I guess that is representative of James Franco himself. Funny, weird and intriguing but delve a little deeper and there is nothing beyond the odd stare.
A completely missed opportunity to dig deep into the life of one of cinema's most mysterious and engaging entities. Tommy Wiseau deserves a deeper introspective, maybe a documentary based on Greg Sestero's book would be better.
Oh, Hi 5/10 mediocre score...anyway, how's your sex life?