The Disaster Artist (2017)

Director: James Franco
Writers: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber
DOP: Brandon Trost
Cast: James Franco, Dave Franco, Seth Rogen

When Greg Sestero (Dave Franco), an aspiring film actor, meets the weird and mysterious Tommy Wiseau (James Franco) in an acting class, they form a unique friendship and travel to Hollywood to make their dream come true. Faced by rejections, Wiseau decides to make a film with his own money. The result is the so bad its good cult classic 'The Room', which he wrote, directed, produced and starred.

I haven't actually seen The Room in full but have seen its famous sequences like 'Oh, hi Mark', 'You're tearing me apart' and 'You're my favourite customer'. You don't really need to see it to actually enjoy this film. It is adapted from book written by Greg and Tom Bissell, a journalist, on the making of 'The Room', which James Franco first read before actually watching the film. Seth Rogen was already a fan of the film and co-produced the adaptation. When James first approached Wiseau to buy the rights, he was asked to approach Johnny Depp to play the titular role which would have been curious as he has already made a similar kind of film in 'Ed Wood'.

I was initially put off thinking it was James Franco playing a double role. I actually binned watching David Simon TV Series 'Deuce' because of the same factor. Anyway, James Franco is unrecognisable playing Tommy Wiseau and he apparently stayed in character while directing it. Film grows on you gradually as it is not clearly a spoof but quite a sympathetic portrayal. Visually it is quite bland like typical Seth Rogen LA films. They've recreated the scenes from the original film in spectacular detail and they are displayed side by side during the end credits. It doesn't resolve the questions like how old Wiseau is, where he is from originally and how did he get the money to make the film. Sexual allegations against James Franco have taken the wind out of its sail during the awards season after him winning the golden globes award. Do wait for the post credits scene.

Rating: 4/5