December 8, 2017 1 min to read

The Disaster Artist

The Disaster Artist misses the mark, and glazes over the interesting questions we have for The Room.

by Zach Saul

I have to admit….I was hoping for more from The Disaster Artist and more specifically James Franco’s Tommy Wiseau. one of the reasons I was excited to see the movie is because portraying someone like Tommy is really, really ambitious. Not because he’s an unrealized genius, because turning Tommy into a likable character seemed like a challenge given how little we know about him.

The Disaster Artist is funny, and definitely worth the price of admission - but I was hoping for a little more Michael Scott, and a little less Frank Calliendo. The genius of Michael Scott was that an outlandish man could be relatable because of his selfishness - him sharing his inner monologue made us cringe and relate to him simultaneously. In The Disaster Artist, Franco’s Wiseau lacks the outlandishness to be a true Shlemeil, and the depth to sustain a 90 minute movie. The question, what compelled Tommy to make such a bizarre film? is a fascinating one I felt like Franco (director and lead) tossed aside is favor of a future SNL impression. In fairness Franco does hit on some of the big questions we have about The Room - namely is it OK for us to be laughing at this if Tommy didn’t intend that?

The ensemble cast is really strong, and Seth Rogan, Allison Brie, and Dave Franco all added a nice compliment to Wiseau - but I found myself infinitely more compelled by their characters than Franco’s and that’s problematic.

The Good: The Disaster Artist does a really, really impressive job copying the most minute details of the Room - and definitely captured the spirit of those around the production, and the feelings that accompany us as an audience (watching the room).

The Bad: It almost felt like I was watching a diehard Harry Potter fan’s movie about the making of Chris Columbus’ Harry Potter movies. Were the writers were too close to the source material? Does Franco hold The Room in such high regard, it blinded him from asking the bigger questions about the worst movie of all time?