Sometimes a movie comes along that is so bad you cannot stop watching it, The Room is one of these particular films. The movie debuted in early 2004 at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival and thanks to a five year showing at the Sunset Theater in West Hollywood it has become the cult hit that it is today.
The film is about a successful banker whose fiancé decides that she no longer loves him and cheats on him with his best friend. Sounds like a good start to a film but quickly falls out of sequence when you realize that the film is abysmal. Pan shots of San Francisco that are just placed in there to pass time, art on the wall that is of plastic silverware and the soft core sex scenes that really no one wants to see.
Tagged as a film with as much passion as Tennessee Williams, star and director Tommy Wiseau clearly planned The Room as a heavy drama but upon further review he quickly stated that the film was supposed to be a black comedy. This retagging of the film seemed to only further his film as a cult classic.
Wiseau and company falls into the likes of Ed Wood and Uwe Boll with movies that are over enthusiastic but now where near that talent that is needed to perform such a pretentious film. In the rare cases like this, we get a film that is just as enjoyable as it is bad.
As many cult classics have their quirks, audience participation is a huge part of the film and makes the experience that much better. Many members have seen the film a number of times and quote the movie as well as add their own commentary and others bring spoons to throw when you see the art on the walls. When the scenes of the Golden Gate Bridge come on screen the audience chants,” GO! GO! GO!” to encourage the shot to get across the bay. As The Rocky Horror Picture Show fans throw toilet paper, The Room fans throw spoons.
The Room, starring Wiseau, Juliette Danielle (as his finance Lisa) and Greg Seserto (as Johnny’s best friend Mark) entrapped in a muddy love triangle that seems to spark only because Lisa decides not to love Tommy anymore. Denny his awkward adopted slash rescued son comes in and out as if he were a dog at Johnny’s disposal.
The whole film was written as a play, then as a novel, Wiseau decided to go on and make it a film instead. With a budget of $6 million, instead of renting cameras Wiseau bought a 35mm and a digital HD camera, which he shot the movie with both cameras simultaneously. With the knowledge Wiseau obtained from that experience, he is now penning a book on the matter.
Wiseau, the odd looking eastern European man, is now looking at making a television series where there is a mix up of vampires and basketball called “The Neighborhood.” He is hoping to get if off the ground in the next few years or it will sadly get stuck in development hell.
Overall the film is a ride all of its own, the movie may be horrible but the experience is worth every second of the excruciating pain your eyes may encounter. See the film at a midnight showing do not Netflix it .
