The Disaster Artist

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kevinknapman
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The Disaster Artist

#1 Post by kevinknapman » Thu Nov 23, 2017 12:03 am

I've been looking forward to The Disaster Artist since it was announced three years ago and thankfully it does not disappoint.

An hilarious and oddly touching film about the making of The Room (based on Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell's book) with an almost scarily good performance from James Franco as Tommy Wiseau.

Crucially, what could have merely been a point and laugh exercise at the creation of a cinematic turkey is turned into a fairly sincere look at an underdog realising his vision against the odds and the wannabe actor carried along in his wake. Sure, it doesn't shy away from the absurdities of both Tommy and the film he made, but by the end you're just as likely to feel sorry for Tommy and Greg than just wanting to laugh at them.
An obvious comparison is Ed Wood with James Franco and writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H Weber taking a similar approach to Tim Burton in his heartfelt depiction of a Hollywood outsider convinced he's making a future classic.

As well as a great performance from James Franco the rest of the cast is also impressive. Dave Franco as Greg Sestero has the unenviable task of playing most of his scenes against his brother's larger than life performance but does a fine job.
The supporting cast also includes excellent turns from Seth Rogen, Alison Brie, Ari Graynor, Jacki Weaver, Zac Efron and Josh Hutcherson.
While, rather fittingly, all three presenters of the bad movie podcast How Did This Get Made? (Paul Scheer, Jason Mantzoukas and June Diane Raphael) make an appearance.
Plus there are plenty of one scene cameos from some surprisingly big names

Quite how this will play to those who haven't experienced the questionable joys of The Room I couldn't say but those who have will find much to enjoy, especially the painstaking recreation of many of its 'iconic' scenes (a scene by scene comparison over the end credits shows just how meticulous they were*).
Overall though I suspect it will prove funny enough to play to any audience.


*Oh and stick around until the very end of the credits for an extra special treat.
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Re: The Disaster Artist

#2 Post by stuartboy » Fri Nov 24, 2017 12:07 am

Damn! I purposely didn't read the above before seeing this tonight. Missed the end of credits scene as didn't know about it.
What can I say. Only now do I recall hearing about the cult film The Room, but didn't make this link during viewing, and never seen it. As a stand alone film therefore I found this both genius and horrendously bad simultaneously and in equal amounts. I lived it and loathed it at the same time.
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Not entirely sure if this should have been made. Does it add anything to civilisation? Is life any better for it's existence? Not sure. Still. It was a bit of fun.
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Re: The Disaster Artist

#3 Post by EthanRunt » Sun Nov 26, 2017 4:56 pm

Saw this last week, in a double-bill with The Room, and a double-Franco Q&A.
I was super excited, seen The Room many times, seen the extras on the disks, the spy-like behind the scenes, the compelling dubbed interviews, I've met Tommy and Greg a few times, read the book and went to a stop on the book tour, and thus The Disaster Artist should have been 100% for me.
I think The Disaster Artist is far more for the casual folk, or those who know nothing about Tommy Wiseau, than it is for the hardcore. The film is made to be a compelling comic drama about two friends with passion, insanity and dreams. The end result being what it is just adds a touch of surrealism to the proceedings.
James Franco is phenomenal, there are asides and Wiseau-isms that I've heard Tommy say in the same manner before, and it felt exactly like the man on screen is the man in real life. Dave Franco isn't quite the Greg of real life, though he's given less to play with because he is more a blank canvass audience surrogate.

You can throw in as many quality actors, comedians and LA icons (Hello Angelyne) but The Disaster Artist is only a decent film, it never commits to the darker world of Tommy's filmmaking style, nor enough of the mystery of who Tommy is that made some chapters of The Disaster Artist book so much fun to read. Greg's attempts to shed light on the possible backstories of Tommy would have made for fun vignettes, as would a lot more of the brutal crap-show that was the making of The Room, that only comes out to be shouting match-filled twice in the 40 minutes we spend on set.

Ah well, it's well made and hosts a singular performance beyond all measure. And if it helps people find Tommy Wiseau then we're all good.


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Re: The Disaster Artist

#4 Post by D-Fens » Mon Nov 27, 2017 9:37 pm

It's a movie and funny not funny haha out loud but amusing unless you've seen Room then funny HAHA but you more show other people you've seen The Room not comedy serious movie like Hero's Journey but Hollywood Dream and uneven start then engrossing middle because James Franco masterful performance beautiful homage then ending maybe Stuart "The Boy" correct and what's the point, what's point of anything is really a mystery or just excuse to exist? Be alive to very end comparison to real masterpiece but no continuity many error.

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Re: The Disaster Artist

#5 Post by deepeecee » Tue Nov 28, 2017 7:21 am

Had expected a ‘mockumentary’ style film but ‘The Disaster Artist’ is close to being a documentary- a dramatised re-creation of an actual event. It is not always easy to watch – Franco does not make Tommy Wiseau anything but self-deluding, needy and bloody irritating- but is horribly funny. The comparison between the actual film and the re-creations that close the movie are amazing.

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Re: The Disaster Artist

#6 Post by The Sparrow » Tue Nov 28, 2017 11:32 am

I can't fault James Franco's amazing performance but what concerns me is that this film will increase interest in the damn awful film 'The Room'. I've never liked Tommy Wiseau but this film shows him as the nasty person he truly is. The fact he is so secretive makes me wonder what he's hiding.
How people can laud and praise him baffles me and only feeds his ego.
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Re: The Disaster Artist

#7 Post by kawan2 » Tue Nov 28, 2017 9:06 pm

Have never heard about or seen The Room till I saw this movie yesterday. Really enjoyed this really "bad" but funny movie. As several people have said, the comparison and recreation at the end of the 2 movies was good.

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Re: The Disaster Artist

#8 Post by ladams888 » Wed Nov 29, 2017 11:42 am

Saw this in Wimbledon Odeon. Went to this film completely blind, so had no idea what the film was about or what to expect. The jerky camera movements made me think it was a spoof fly-on-the-wall documentary, but then the plot started to develop. James Franco was virtually unrecognisable as Tommy Wiseau, and his incomprehensible accent really put me off. I had no idea at that time that it was actually based on real-life events – even though it said “based on a true story” at the beginning some movies, e.g. Fargo, use this ploy when they are completely fictional. There were some real comedic moments but mostly I was trying to work out the enigma that was Tommy Wiseau. I really liked the end credits where we could see snippets from the actual “The Room” movie and the one done in this film. I also liked the fact that the real Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero had minor roles in the film as well – which means that they were happy with what the film was trying to portray them. I had never heard of the movie “The Room” – but now I want to see it. On the whole, a bit of a surprise for me; my liking for the film increased the longer I watched it. 7/10

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Re: The Disaster Artist

#9 Post by McG » Wed Nov 29, 2017 12:42 pm

Saw this at the free screening and must admit I wasn't really looking forward to it as I'd had a quick look at the synopsis and thought it wasn't really my taste. However, I was pleasantly surprised. Yes the character of Tommy is "living in another planet" but he gets his film made in the end. I'd never heard of The Room before but enjoyed seeing clips of the original with the current film at the end. Not sure whether I should now seek out The Room . . .
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Re: The Disaster Artist

#10 Post by chelle1973 » Wed Nov 29, 2017 2:12 pm

A really good movie about a baaaaaad movie! Genius!! James Franco was brilliant....where did Tommy get his wealth from?? 8/10 o/
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