Directed by:
James FrancoCinematography:
Brandon TrostComposer:
Dave PorterCast:
James Franco, Dave Franco, Seth Rogen, Ari Graynor, Alison Brie, Jacki Weaver, Paul Scheer, Josh Hutcherson, Zac Efron, Megan Mullally, Jason Mantzoukas (more)Plots(1)
With The Disaster Artist, James Franco transforms the tragicomic true-story of aspiring filmmaker and infamous Hollywood outsider Tommy Wiseau - an artist whose passion was as sincere as his methods were questionable - into a celebration of friendship, artistic expression, and dreams pursued against insurmountable odds. Based on Greg Sestero’s best-selling tell-all about the making of Tommy's cult-classic disasterpiece The Room (“The Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made”), The Disaster Artist is a hilarious and welcome reminder that there is more than one way to become a legend - and no limit to what you can achieve when you have absolutely no idea what you're doing. (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)
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Reviews (10)
What a bizarre film! What else would you expect from a film about a total freak who decides to write, produce and make a film? Considering the kind of crap this was, I had a surprisingly good time, largely due to the performance of James Franco who made me laugh like never before, which was a huge contrast to his somewhat wooden brother.
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Tommy Wiseau is such a ghost in his own right, and so a film about him just has to be interesting, which was confirmed in this case, just as it was confirmed to me that James Franco is immensely talented, not just in terms of acting, but also in terms of directing. He has the film firmly in hand the entire time and doesn't let go until the end. A great tribute, but also a great film.
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Despite everything that Franco says about his project, which is parroted by publicists and talk-show hosts, The Disaster Artist is not a good film. Above all, it lacks not only real drama and heart, but also proper insight into the characters’ inner selves. Unlike Burton’s frequently recalled Ed Wood, The Disaster Artist does not bring forth any new or remotely intense or deeply felt view of Tommy Wiseau and his egocentric creative abortion, The Room. It merely repeats what has already been said many times, literally turning observations, which occur to truly everyone while watching The Room, into film sequences and only points out the inconsistencies and ambiguities in the myth that has grown up around the film and its creator, but without following up on them. The result is only a succession of freakshow vignettes in which Franco makes faces and pretends to give a great acting performance. Paradoxically, however, the closing comparison of the original scenes from The Room and their reconstructions by the Franco brothers and company shows that Franco is only mimicking Wiseau pretty much in the same way that a number of The Room fans did before and after him when talking about the film with friends and “re-enacting” the most bizarre sequences. The main drawback of The Disaster Artist is Franco himself. He is a workaholic with a pathological fear of standing still even for a moment. Because of that, his filmography is astonishing in terms of the number of projects he manages to bring to fruition every year as a producer, director and actor. However, the sad truth remains that Franco is not a multitasking genius but, like the vast majority of us, simply a person with limited capacity. In the field of acting, that can still be masked by fleeting effort and the work of make-up artists and costume designers, but Franco’s directing projects are a prime example of unrealised potential. Franco is incapable of fully focusing on one thing for several months, let alone years, as proper directors do, nor does he have his own distinctive style that would make his projects stand out (such as in the case of craftsmen Takashi Miike and Seijun Suzuki). For Franco, each film is just one of a thousand items on an ever-expanding “to do” list that give him a momentary diversion. Whereas that doesn’t particularly matter in the case of stylish hokum like Future World, The Disaster Artist would deserve to be handled by someone other than a fantasist with ADHD who tries to make himself into a great auteur by diving into the role while communicating with everyone during shooting by parodying Wiseau. The documentary project A Room Full of Spoons, with whose creators Wiseau engaged in litigation, offers hope in this respect, as the filmmakers allowed themselves to do what Franco did not do, which is that they aimed to uncover the major issues surrounding The Room – where Tommy comes from, how old is he and where he get the money for the film.
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Whatever opinion you may have about Tommy Wiseau’s person – optimistic visionary, tragic dreamer, or just a total failure who managed to attract too much attention – , it doesn’t matter in the slightest way. Here, it is James Franco who is in charge. And obviously, he’s on top of his game. Interestingly, The Disaster Artist completely nails it. Above all, the cast is on point, the roles are performed with authenticity and, what’s more, there’s a delightful cameo every two minutes (the best one coming just after the closing credits, so make sure you watch till the end). Of course, you’d better be familiar with The Room if you want to enjoy the second half of the film fully. During the viewing, I had a feeling the creators had a great time shooting the movie and went out of their way to convey their passion to the audience. And this in itself makes my day.
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I was bored until about halfway through before everything started to sink in, and by the end, I was laughing my head off. I thought it was a joke, but it really happened! I'm still reeling from the realization. I guess only life itself can really write such a stupid story. James Franco did quite a good job acting and directing. (65%)
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