"The Disaster Artist" (2017) Film Review

“The Disaster Artist”: James Franco turns the most cringe-worthy film in history into a stunning masterpiece.

                                                                                                                Image courtesy of A24 Studios.

Directed By: James Franco

Rated: R

Runtime: 1:44

Review By: Livi Edmonson

“The Disaster Artist” is a hilariously quirky and weirdly heartwarming biopic about the infamous Tommy Wiseau, who earned his fame by creating the cult-classic, “The Room”. It is better known as “The Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made”. Tommy Wiseau (played by James Franco) met his best friend/fellow actor/future business partner, Greg Sestero (played by Dave Franco), one day in an acting class in San Francisco. A quick backstory before continuing: Sestero wrote the memoir “The Disaster Artist”, of which the film is adapted from. After Tommy decides to help a timid 19-year-old Greg come out of his shell, the two wannabe actors decide to move out to Los Angeles and put their talents to the test. Little did they know was that becoming famous is always easier in the movies than it is in real life.

                                                                       James Franco in "The Disaster Artist".

After being turned down audition after audition, the dynamic duo decides that they do not need Hollywood and that they might as well make their own film. This is where the “disasterpiece” officially begins.

Tommy writes, produces, directs, and acts in his film called “The Room”. Greg also stars alongside Tommy in “The Room”. Even though it was a joint idea to make their own film in the first place, it became Tommy’s vision and Tommy’s vision only. Considering he financed all $6 million that went into the film’s production, I guess you could say that is the way it should’ve been, but I’ll leave that up to you to decide.

He hired so many professional producers, script editors, and actors that really tried to put in their opinion and help him out, but again: this was Tommy’s vision. He did not care to hear what anyone else thought, hence how awful the movie turned out to be. Yikes… If this is not a great example of why you should listen to constructive criticism, I don’t know what is.

Oh yeah, and I am quite certain that you are wondering where all of this money he just squandered away came from. Nobody knows! To this day, we also do not know how old Tommy really is or where he is from. We actually don’t know anything about the guy. As if this situation could get any scarier, am I right?

The real Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero with James Franco and Dave Franco at Toronto International Film Festival, where the film was first premiered. Image courtesy of  The L.A. Times. 

Overall, “The Disaster Artist” proves to be a story of friendship and how you should always stick with the ones who support you and all of your ideas, no matter how insane they are. But above anything else, the film has a bizarre but thoughtful way of teaching us that we should never give up on our dreams, no matter how out of reach they may seem.

Even if Wiseau made the worst movie of all time, at least he made a movie that will be remembered. I can think of many Oscar award-winning films that people won’t remember twenty years from now, but they sure will remember “The Room”.

James Franco has always been an icon and a prime example of the Hollywood star factor, but his already award-winning portrayal of Tommy Wiseau and his passion for this crazy, yet successful, project ultimately proves that he is one of the absolute best of the best. Franco recognized Wiseau’s dream for “The Room” before any of us did and being the creative genius he is, he decided to turn this guy into a star; not necessarily because he saw him as being talented, but because he saw a passionate artist deep within a man of mystery.

If you have not seen “The Room”, I highly recommend suffering through it before you pay a visit to your local theater to see “The Disaster Artist”. Trust me, it will make the story behind it even more enjoyable and believable.

In conclusion, go see “The Disaster Artist” because it is one of the best films you will see this year. It is different, memorable, and terrific in every way. It is mostly funny and at times, somewhat sad, but you will leave the theater feeling hopeful about what you can accomplish in life. What a great feeling to start the new year off with!