REVIEWBRUARY [DAY 8]: THE DISASTER ARTIST 8/10 – A-

SYNOPSIS

Based on the 2013 book by the same name – which in return documents the 2003 cult classic; The Room, The Disaster Artist is a comedic, timely and thoughtful film which incorporates a lot of heart and soul, and is one hell of a tribute to the cult classic in every way, from the actual fans, to the creators of the original. The Disaster Artist follows a mysterious figure named Tommy Wiseau (played by James Franco), whose age, identity and wealth are all questioned – but Tommy has one of the most powerful tools in his locker; his determination – watch the story as Wiseau writes, stars, directs and completely funds his vision to unexpected reactions. I thoroughly enjoyed The Disaster Artist, and it had a lot more heart than I thought it would – turning into the perfect tribute to the cult classic

REVIEW

I like comedies, and I find James Franco to be a fascinating actor – he has it in his locker to do something special, but he instead often creates sub par films, the one thing 2017 has really been missing is a good comedy, we’ve had a lot of horrors but not many successful comedies. And I still don’t think that this can be cast as a true comedy, don’t get me wrong – everything is set up to be funny, and everything is funny, but it isn’t what I have come to associate as a comedic film. Now this can either go two ways, all films will adopt this Oscar-calibre comedic status, where there is so much development for the characters and it is such a character-driven film, or we have to understand that Franco and the producers of the film wanted to try to push it as an Oscar-worthy film and so a-lot of the comedic elements were left on the floor. Nevertheless, that is just an afterthought I will get into later, The Disaster Artist is so powerful because as much as it is Wiseau’s story, Franco gives an incredible performance, with his brother nearly matching him in all scenes. And although there are so many cameos and famous actors in this movie, it really is just a movie about James and Dave Franco which is oddly perfect.

As I have already said James Franco makes this film, he delivers a starry, heartfelt performance which manages to grab my attention and care for a character who I really don’t know anything about. Whilst Franco succeeds in front of the camera, he also smashes it out of the park actors cast, the heart of the film how I cared for all the character. I loved it being a true story, and that it was so funny because it was true, the fact he kept it open in the cinema to get nominated, the billboard that was there for years, the hotline. Dave Franco was also great, considering this was his first real Oscar push, James has done it before with 127 Hours.

The only thing I would’ve liked in this film would’ve been for a little more comedy. You can tell it is toned down in order for it to be in for Oscar contention. I loved the cameos in this film, how well-known actors were able to show their faces and that leads me nicely onto this film clearly being made by the fans first and foremost. The depth of the cast is amazing, we have Alison Brie to Zac Efron, and the actual film isn’t exactly a laugh out loud film but it is a more well-thought out film.

But one thing this film is not missing is heart – case and point “he made it through two acts of Shakespeare” line. As well as being an accurate representation to the story, I think it is also a tribute to Tommy Wiseau – evident in how he tried to keep the film in the cinema for the Oscar-season.

Now, I was pretty certain James Franco was going to be nominated for something at this years Oscars, but because of the recent allegations, many suspect that this did not help his case at all. Taking everything away from it, I think Franco at the very least deserves a nomination for his acting.

The perfect tribute by people who genuinely loved the original, and a really good film with a lot of heart, and a fantastic performance by Franco brothers. I really enjoyed The Disaster Artist I give it an 8/10 or an A-

AZ