First of all, James Franco directed and starred in "The Disaster Artist." Anyone who knows me knows I've been a huge Franco fan for years. I thought he was absolutely extraordinary in "127 Hours." His talent, in my opinion, is irrefutable. Franco pursued 4 graduate degrees simultaneously. He's worked on dozens of movies. He taught film, wrote a novel... the list goes on and on. To cap it all off, this past Sunday he won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Tommy Wiseau.
The film the "Disaster Artist" can certainly be tricky for many people to wrap their heads around- wait, so it's a movie about a book about a movie? Yeah, it's a little complicated. Let me break it down for you. In 2003, a movie came out titled "The Room," which is famously known as the worst movie ever made. This movie was directed and created by the enigmatic Tommy Wiseau, a man whose age and birth place have remained a mystery to the public for over a decade. To truly get a sense of "The Room," you have to watch it. There are no words to explain this film. Over the years, it's obtained a cult following. A few months ago I went to a screening of "The Room" in Los Angeles and it was quite an experience. Audience participation has become a critical component of viewing this film. To give an example, the picture frames seen in "The Room" all contain pictures of spoons. Naturally, every time one of these frames pops up on screen, the entire audience pelts plastic spoons at the screen. I very strongly recommend experiencing this for yourself.
In 2013, Greg Sestero, one of the stars of "The Room," released a book called "The Disaster Artist." This nonfiction book exposed every odd detail of film production and every unbelievable quirk of Tommy. In addition to documenting production of "The Room," this book also told the story of Greg and Tommy's intricate friendship. Naturally, as a big fan of "The Room," I've read this book and it was honestly one of the most endearing stories of friendship I've ever come across.
Last year, it was revealed that James Franco was turning this book into a movie. Clearly, as a major fan of Franco AND "The Room," my calendar was marked for a full year. I honestly cannot remember the last time I was quite so excited for a movie to come out. As I mentioned earlier, I had the wonderful opportunity to live in Los Angeles for a few months. While I was there, I went to an event to hear James Franco, and his brother, Dave, talk about working on "The Disaster Artist." He revealed many fascinating details about Tommy and what it was like to work with him. It was clear that this project meant so much to him. So many actors in Hollywood got excited by this project, so there are a ton of really wonderful people in the film. Through hearing him speak, and certainly through watching the movie, it was evident that this was truly a passion project for Franco.
Now, finally getting to the film itself (thanks for hanging in there), "The Disaster Artist" was well worth the wait. It was so heartwarming and so funny. Since I read the book and every single interview I could get my hands on about the movie, no parts of the film really came as much of a surprise to me. As James Franco himself has said, it's truly a film about dreamers and friendship. I could really tell that the character of Tommy resonated with Franco. This is something he addressed when I heard him speak. As an actor, he understands the struggles of following your dreams in Hollywood. While it is truly compelling to watch Tommy's ambition unravel into failures and successes on screen, I thought it was even more impactful to observe the friendship between Tommy and his best friend and costar, Greg. Dave Franco played the role of Greg- at first I was a little skeptical because the younger Franco brother hasn't had the most experience, but he really pulled it off. I think the two brothers portraying complicated best friends on screen was a great tactic. It made the relationship feel all the more genuine. Between the story of a friendship and the story of chasing your dreams, this film is really able to draw in an audience.
James Franco is really unbelievable as Tommy Wiseau in this film. Tommy is a very distinctive guy. He has an accent sounds Eastern European, yet the man has claimed he's from New Orleans. Tommy has jet-black dyed hair, regularly wears several belts at once, and has an infamous lazy eye. Franco seamlessly stepped into this role and is entirely unrecognizable as Tommy. He even directed in character. Tommy is without a doubt a complex man, and Franco really did a stellar job capturing his character.
I just graduated from college with a degree in marketing, so sometimes in my blogs I like to interject with a little commentary on the marketing of the films I've seen. Back in the day, to market "The Room," Tommy Wiseau rented out a billboard in Los Angeles for 6 month. This menacing billboard featured a massive photo of Tommy, which looked more like a mugshot than a headshot. He unbelievably put his own phone number on this billboard, encouraging people to contact him. To market "The Disaster Artist," James Franco recreated this billboard and added a number that would connect a caller to either himself of Tommy. This is a brilliant way to create buzz and really excite fans of "The Room." In addition to the billboard, James Franco did a lot of press interviews and his excitement is so evident in all of the press coverage. Posters for the film were released with really great shots of Franco as Tommy. The marketing team created a website called "Tommy's Planet," which not only strategically references the film, but served as a functional and hysterical website for fans to use. The social media strategies were out of this world as well (some could say they are also on Tommy's planet). For example, there were several Facebook videos posted documenting phone calls with Tommy (re: the infamous billboard). Whoever worked on this campaign should be so proud!
While I ultimately recommend seeing "The Disaster Artist" regardless, I really recommend watching "The Room" and then watching "The Disaster Artist." Both are worth the watch! At the end of "The Disaster Artist" there is a side by side comparison of scenes from each of the movies, and the recreation of these scenes is extraordinary. It's such a fun movie to watch, and there is so much heart to it. The passion behind this film is truly apparent across the board, which is why I think this film was ultimately successful.
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