THE DISASTER ARTIST

The movie The Room may be the worst modern movie ever made, becoming famous and infamous, inspiring a "so bad it's good" attitude and having midnight showings.  But what about Tommy Wiseau, the writer-director-star of the movie?  The Disaster Artist is a look at the man behind this movie -- and his best friend and co-star.

Greg (Dave Franco) is a struggling artist who meets Tommy (James Franco) at an acting class.  Greg is impressed with Tommy's uninhibited emotional acting, and the two quickly become good friends (despite Tommy being quite secretive about everything from his age to where he's from to his seemingly unlimited supply of money).  Tommy is quite volatile, rejecting every suggestion and overacting every chance he gets,

The two move to Los Angeles together, but acting gigs are scarce.  Greg gives Tommy the idea to make his own movie, which would become The Room.  Tommy spares no expense (and incurs many unnecessary ones) making the movie, and soon even Greg can't ignore the poor choices and terrible writing of the movie.  But Greg is in the movie too, worried about how it will affect his career and his friendship with Tommy.

The Disaster Artist is both entertaining and superficial.  James Franco does a dead-on impersonation of Tommy Wiseau, from his looks to his bizarre European accent.  But we never learn what really makes Wiseau tick (apart from his conviction that he must be the hero when acting) and the result in an amazing recreation of The Room and its star without getting into more about it.

Overall grade: B-
Reviewed by James Lynch