There’s no question that
Tommy Wiseau is a passionate “artist.” It’s not everyone who can say
they financed, wrote, directed and starred in their own $6 million
movie. There’s also no question that the man is delusional, or, at the
very least, sees the world and his role in it through a very unique
perspective. He is truly a piece of work and, I think, more complex than
his image would have us believe.
After watching The Disaster Artist, it’s
obvious that James Franco has a great deal of respect for Wiseau, as
this chronicle of the making of the actor’s disastrous The Room is
one filled with admiration for his drive and determination. Franco, in
addition to directing, portrays Wiseau, and he never plays him as a
fool. Granted, he doesn’t hold back in showing that he’s delusional,
socially awkward and a horrible actor, yet there’s never any criticism
in the script by Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber or Franco’s
performance to suggest that they have anything but respect for Wiseau’s
willingness to put himself out there.
Unfortunately, Wiseau’s efforts aren’t met with the sort of praise and adulation he was hoping for. The movie he made, The Room, has been called the “Citizen Kane of
bad movies,” and that’s not an exaggeration. Having never seen this
epic, I attended a local, sold-out screening on Friday night, and it is
truly, extraordinarily bad. I could not fully appreciate all of Wiseau’s
leaden dialogue, as so many audience members were yelling at or
responding to the inane actions on the screen that much of it was
drowned out. I got the gist of it though, and it’s obvious why The Room has
become the cult classic it is – despite how badly acted, written and
directed it is, there’s a sincerity to it all that opens it up to
derision.
Still, there’s a sense in the audience that viewers appreciate his effort, despite his having fallen so short of the mark.
The same can be said for Disaster. Wiseau
is not portrayed here as a saint – his treatment of the members of his
crew is deplorable while his behavior towards roommate and co-star Greg
Sestero (Dave Franco) is at times unconscionable – but he is deserving
of our respect due to his single-minded pursuit towards making his
dreams come true.
Disaster is
very funny during its first two acts as we witness the birth of
Wiseau’s dream and his attempt to take Sestero under his wing. James
Franco’s performance is a deceptive one; a turn that looks easy, yet is
in reality a high-wire act between the ridiculous and the sincere. With
his unidentifiable accent and slightly slurred mumble in addition to his
stiff movements, the actor creates a tragic comic figure that’s all too
relatable. His brother Dave is equally good, realistically enthusiastic
as he sets out to take Tinsel Town by storm, only to become
increasingly disillusioned once he realizes how misguided Wiseau’s
project is.
Due to
narrative expediency, the script plays fast and loose with the facts
during its third act in order to give the viewer a satisfactory ending
that was years in the making rather than a single night. However, the
end credits effectively underscore Wiseau’s passion as scenes from The Room are run next to recreations of them from Disaster. They
are simultaneously hilarious and touching, and you can tell that
there’s a separate movie playing in his head that’s quite different from
the one the ended up on screen.
Contact Chuck Koplinski at [email protected].
