Throwback Thursday Review: 'The Room'

Oh, hai readers! If you've seen The Room or even heard of the film, you should get that reference. Otherwise, that's probably the reason you're here! So for those that don't know, The Room is considered one of the worst movies ever made, but has gathered a cult following over the years in spite of that. The reason I'm reviewing it is because The Disaster Artist is set to expand its release this weekend, and that film essentially is all about the making of The Room. As a part of my internship, I got to help host a screening of The Room and it was absolutely bonkers! There were cue cards that suggested certain actions when a particular event occurred onscreen, but the fervent fans in the auditorium already knew what to say or do, and when to say or do it. It was actually amazing, because I've never seen anything like it (Sentiments that definitely double for the film itself). As for upcoming content, my scheduled Throwback Thursday Reviews for the remainder of the year consist of just Looper and Jumanji (1995) and I'll be done with my internship next Wednesday so I will resume reviewing current releases starting with Star Wars: The Last Jedi! At this point in time, I have 15 reviews in draft ready to be published. I recently shared a post on all my social media pages allowing you, the reader, to select the reviews you're most interested in reading, so please go vote if you haven't already!

'The Room' Review

In The Room, a successful banker named Johnny and his fiancé Lisa live happily in San Fransisco till Lisa decides she's no longer content with their relationship and tries to seduce and manipulate Johnny's best friend, Mark. 

The Room is considered one of the worst films ever made and is totally Tommy Wiseau's movie from start-to-finish as he directed, produced, starred, and even wrote the script for the film. The story behind it all was that the idea originated as a concept for a stage play, but Wiseau had difficulty publishing so he instead decided he would adapt the project to film himself to have complete control over his project. I'll skimp on details behind the historically disastrous production for the sake of permitting The Disaster Artist to be full of surprises for you should you choose to see it.

Once you see the film, it's abundantly clear why Wiseau ran into such difficulty publishing. Things happen that make no sense. There are numerous random scenes and characters that come out of nowhere without factoring into the film at all. None of the dialogue sounds natural whatsoever, and the every actors' line delivery is absolutely atrocious. I never thought I would say this, but the performances are so bad that I genuinely apologize for any disdain I've expressed towards any actor or actress in this blog's lifespan. Yes, that even includes whatever Cara Delevigne was doing in Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets and Suicide Squad.

On top of all that, the film is a technical travesty. The camera's rarely in focus, actors are constantly out of frame while speaking, there are useless establishing shot of the Golden Gate bridge or San Fransisco itself in between nearly every scene, the editing's extraordinarily inept, and there's no attention to detail as props relocate between shots. I could go on and on and on about all the abundant issues that plague this project, but I won't for the sake of length.

It's notoriously known that Tommy Wiseau had extreme difficulty memorizing lines, and it really shows... In fact, his ineptitude in regards to film production shines through every second of The Room. However, this indulges audience with an overbearing amount of memorable moments that likely helped launch The Room to its current cult status. 

Despite everything I've said so far, this film is enormously entertaining when watched with a crowd. Arthouse theaters all around the country play The Room monthly, so you should see it if you can find one playing the film near you. It's well worth watching in spite of its infinite flaws, will go down as one of the most interesting experiences you'll have ever had in a theater auditorium, and leave you sufficiently prepared to watch The Disaster Artist.  

The Room is one of those films that's so bad that it's actually enjoyable to watch. While that could certainly be on account of the screening I was at, I choose to believe the film itself is genuinely that unique. Either way, The Room is easily the best worst thing I've ever seen on a cinema screen!

Film Assessment: F