Oh, hi, Mark!
Just two days ago, the iconic mother of all so-bad-it's-good cult classics, The Room (2003), turned 20 years old. I'm taking part in the festivities by ranking 10 insights into this obscure film, from fun facts and deep-diving analyses to viewing suggestions and conspiracy theories.
10. With so many bad movies out there, what makes this one stick out?
This is an interesting one to ponder. It's not like The Room is the bad movie - I mean, it sort of is, but why? There are many bad movies in this world of ours, even in the view of us glass-half-full critics who argue that there are many more good ones. But for whatever reason, The Room is better-known, more beloved and more of a cult hit than any of its compatriots.
Is it because the story behind it and the mysteries surrounding it (more on these later) are so bizarre? Or because its lousiness is downright beautifully balanced, with elements like writing, directing, acting and editing all pretty much equally terrible? Or is it because of the honestly heartbreaking fact that the film sticks out from the typical bad-movie archetype (cash grabs with no soul, just trying to make money etc), because Tommy Wiseau honestly wanted and tried to make a masterpiece, therefore making this film a remarkable failure (sorry, Tommy)? It might be a combination of these or something else entirely.
9. The sheer amount of sex scenes
No matter where your expectations are, chances are you'll be surprised by just how many sex scenes there are in The Room. All of them equally poor in terms of choreography, lighting and cinematography, these scenes don't serve the 'story' in a particularly important manner, yet it still seems that they aren't there just because the director was horny - they clearly had some place in Mr. Wiseau's indecipherable artistic vision.
Whatever the thought process was behind them, I'm sorry to report that the plentiful sex scenes are an awkward addition, although it is inescapably amusing how they just keep coming and coming.
8. Worth seeing once; avoid seeing twice
Yeah - I've seen The Room twice. In my defense, the second time was due to me and my friends doing a double feature of watching both The Room and The Disaster Artist (2017) - for those who don't know, the latter is a biopic of the story behind the making of the former. The double feature was worth it as a whole, but still, as a rule of thumb I cannot recommend watching The Room for a second time. Once is enough.
7. Rebel Without a Cause blew my mind
I didn't even know that James Dean was a major inspiration for Tommy Wiseau until I watched The Disaster Artist. And even then, there was one key thing I didn't know - until I eventually saw Rebel Without a Cause (1955) a few years ago, having not seen said classic earlier.
You see, one of the more infamous and memed-up lines in The Room is Wiseau's hysterically over-acted "YOU'RE TEARING ME APART, LISA!". But I didn't know that this was Wiseau channelling his all-time favorite actor - there's a scene in Rebel Without a Cause, where Jim Stark (James Dean) yells "YOU'RE TEARING ME APART!", in a frighteningly similar fashion (but just well-acted). It was a major "Aaaaaaahhhhh, I see" moment to witness that line, immediately connecting the dots in my mind.
6. We need more cult cinema
Yeah, the 'so bad it's good' movies often end up becoming what one might call 'cult hits', but rarely do they get as cult as The Room. It has become a worldwide trend for certain cinemas to have midnight screenings of The Room, where a part of the culture often is for viewers to dress up as the characters, throw plastic spoons, toss footballs to one another throughout the film, and quote famous lines as they appear.
This sounds fun as hell, and I'm devastated that there's no such culture (yet) in my hometown. Whenever Jyväskylä hosts a midnight showing of The Room, I'll be sure to be there, spoon in hand.
5. Just how far the Citizen Kane analogy goes
The phrase "The Citizen Kane of bad movies" has been thrown around a lot when discussing The Room. At first glance, one might think that this is just because Citizen Kane is a solid example of an iconic good movie to throw around, therefore making The Room into its counterpart among the reverse classics.
But it's more than that - Citizen Kane was remarkably written, directed and starring Orson Welles, and is often seen as the ultimate cinematic masterpiece from one mastermind's vision. And The Room was written, directed, and starring Tommy Wiseau, which really nails the coffin on the metaphor - Citizen Kane is the "how could one person do everything so well" film, and The Room, well, isn't.
4. The Disaster Artist is f**king great
Sure, my viewing experience of The Disaster Artist was enhanced by the double-feature package of watching The Room and the story behind The Room on the same night, but even beyond that, it's just a great film. The story behind The Room is just so intriguing with its train-wreck brand of glory, and this film does a fantastic job capturing it with an expert combination of humor and drama in the mix.
The Oscar-nominated screenplay covers the bizarre true story well, following the inner workings behind the notoriously chaotic movie set is fascinating, and the casting of the Franco brothers as Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero was pure genius. Dave Franco is very solid as Sestero, but James Franco knocks it out of the park as Wiseau, pulling off what I consider one of my all-time favorite acting performances, as he channels Wiseau's inherent strangeness so authentically.
Oh, and the real Tommy Wiseau's cameo? Magnificent, and weirdly moving.
3. The DB Cooper theory
In the 1970's, an individual known simply as "D.B. Cooper" hijacked a plane, and parachuted off with loads of ransom money. His age and real name remain unknown, and the money was never found. The man simply disappeared off the face of the earth, and his fate has been speculated to this day.
In the early 2000's, Tommy Wiseau appears in Hollywood, wanting to make a game-changing movie. He has the budget for it, and has always remained secretive and cryptic when asked how he secured this large sum of money. It is not publicly known how old he is exactly, or where he came from, as his background is shrouded in mystery.
So, yeah, someone on internet was bound to make the connection, leading to one of the most epic conspiracy theories ever. I'm not saying I believe it, but...just imagine.
2. I swear, every fact I hear about this film is more chaotic than the last
Tommy Wiseau fought to keep the scene where we walks out of bed naked in the final cut of the film, insisting that the movie won't sell unless he shows his ass. Wiseau has often claimed that he gained the money for making this film by selling leather jackets from South Korea, but has refused to elaborate. Producer Greg Sestero has revealed that Tommy Wiseau originally planned for main character Johnny to 'maybe be a vampire', because he was fascinated with vampires and enjoyed cultivating impressions that he is one. Wiseau was a big Matt Damon fan and specifically named the film's characer Mark after him - apparently he had misheard/misremembered Damon's first name despite being obsessed with him.
So, yeah, everything about The Room is gloriously unhinged.
1. Tommy Wiseau should play Donald Trump
No, really - it makes perfect sense, it's in the cards, it's destined to happen. When thinking about the Trump Presidency, it feels obvious that Hollywood will eventually make a film about it, and it'll probably be the greatest movie ever made. On one hand, one might imagine it being a tightly-knit Aaron Sorkin drama about the fascinating inner workings of the Trump White House, "The Worst Wing" if you will, or "The American President meets Mein Kampf" - but as massive of a Sorkin fan as I am, that's not the most ideal case. The Trump Presidency was just so weird, so unsettling and so bizarre, that a conventional biopic just won't do.
First of all, it should be directed by David Lynch or some other absurd surrealist. And the role of Trump himself shouldn't go to the 'obvious' choices - Clint Eastwood, Daniel Day-Lewis et cetera. As great actors as they are, they'd still make the role a bit too human, because I do not believe that the sheer weirdness of Donald Trump can be truly captured - unless you're authentically weird yourself.
I believe that Tommy Wiseau was born to play this role even more than he was born to make The Room. I believe that without effort, he would capture the random intonations, off-putting outbursts and wildly emotional speech patterns of The Donald by more or less being himself while reading the lines from the script. He will go on to win an Oscar for the authentic performance, and his redemption arch will be complete.
Thank you for reading! Tune in next week as I begin my latest theme month; doing a Literature Month a few years back was so fun, that I'm returning to that concept for July 2023. Literature Month II begins next week, with my ranking of the top 10 Great American Novels!
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