(#10) The Disaster Artist (2017) - [8/10]

Failing Hollywood-dreamers decide to make their own film.

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 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.

How would I describe this film in one word?

Mark.

Note Funny and heartfelt. No. This is not the train-wreck of a film from 2009, this is the 2017 biopic of the train-wreck of a film from 2003.

Review

The movie follows Tommy Wiseau and his friend Greg's story of unsuccessful actors trying to get into the Hollywood industry. After failing numerous times to do so, they decide to create their own movie which would become the movie we all know and hate, I mean love - because of it was so bad it was good. It shows their inexperience, their lack of talent but puts Wiseau's unique character into the limelight to emphasize the reason that the movie was a hit with the audience while being an inevitable flop with the critics. You would expect this movie or any parody movie to mock it's source material, but this movie makes you admire and find joy in the Wiseau you never knew rather rather than 'laugh at him'. It also shows the emotional and real side of Wiseau who had a passion for acting and a sensitive take on relationships and secrecy and reveals his pain in seeing his film not turn out the way he wanted to, all of which you'd sympathise with. James Franco has a very unique character to enact, so unique you would think that he's overdoing it, but his impersonation of Wiseau is stellar and makes this already great and fun film better.

And if you're wondering, no I haven't seen the original movie The Room which this is based on, I have of course seen snippets of the hilarity of this film. I didn't need to watch the original to find this movie entertaining, but I'm sure it'd be much more fun if you do.

RATING: 8/10

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Director: James Franco Rated: R Runtime: 1 hr 44 min Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama Starring: James Franco, Dave Franco, Ari Graynor