At The Movies: The Room

In 2003, an unassuming, independent film was released with little fanfare. The Room, written, directed, and starring Tommy Wiseau, was critically panned for its subpar acting, script, and production values. In fact, many have branded it as one of the worst films ever created.

Fast forward to 2023, and The Room has spawned a cult following akin to Donnie Darko and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Sitting in The Regal Theatre to celebrate its 20th Anniversary, it rapidly became apparent why the film had attained cult status.

With special guest Greg Sestero, who starred as Mark, fielding a Q&A before the screening, the audience of devotees was treated to behind-the-scenes insights and anecdotes. Sestero discussed how he was “helping my crazy friend with his vanity project”. He spoke of the turnstile of cast and crew that came and went throughout production. Of the bottomless bank account Wiseau used to fund the six-million-dollar project. How the two acting school buddies remain friends to this day.

And everything The Disaster Artist related, Sestero’s memoir that details his involvement in making The Room. The acumen was invaluable to first-time viewers (approximately eighty percent of attendees). As was the graciousness Sestero offered to The Room, Wiseau, and the overall juggernaut.

Following the Q&A, Sestero joined the audience and offered live commentary for the first and final fifteen minutes of the film. For the uninitiated, it was a raucous experience.

After twenty years, the complete experience is what The Room has become about. Because if we were to formally review it, it would be steeped in criticism.

Set in San Francisco, the film is centred on a histrionic love triangle between Johnny (Wiseau), his fiancée Lisa (Juliette Danielle) and Johnny’s best friend Mark (Sestero). Intended to be a psychological drama, The Room is anything but. It unashamedly subverts the rules of film making, resulting in significant continuity issues, a haphazard narrative, and countless other inconsistencies.

Several plot lines are introduced, then promptly forsaken. Lisa’s mother, Claudette (Carolyn Minnott), reveals a breast cancer diagnosis early in the script. It is a throwaway line and never referred to again. Similarly, the primary male characters Johnny, Mark, Denny (Philip Haldiman) and Peter (Kyle Vogt) assemble in an alley to throw a football while wearing tuxedos. That’s it. That’s the scene. Both episodes are inconsequential. They do not progress the narrative or have any relevance to it.

The editing and acting are likewise disorderly. Plagued with continuity complications and questionable acting, especially from Wiseau, the film resembles a version of Frankenstein’s monster. Nevertheless, The Room’s flaws have won over audiences. Instead of focusing on its faults, fans have flocked to embrace them.

It is now commonplace during screenings to shout mercilessly at the inadvertent humour in the film’s feeble dialogue and production values. To mimic Johnny’s “oh, hai,” and “chip-chip-chip-chip-cheep-cheep”. To count the number of times the football is thrown between characters. Or to throw plastic (or bamboo, in our case) spoons each time a peculiar, framed photo of a spoon is shown in his apartment. It is also what makes the viewing experience amusing and enjoyable.

Is The Room one of the worst films ever made? Well, it is awful. Truly awful. It is so wonderfully awful that it is actually good. Given the opportunity, I highly recommend everyone watch it.

Don’t forget to bring the spoons!

Movie Review Anita Kertes