[Review] The Disaster Artist: A Momentary Failure Doesn't Mean Forever

The Disaster Artist is a highly successful comedy that keeps audiences laughing, while the friendship at its heart is quite moving. Moreover, the film tells an inspirational story, one that I believe audiences won't soon forget!

First, I'd like to thank Warner Bros. for inviting me to last week's preview screening. After watching this film, I already felt it was incredibly inspiring, but seeing director and star James Franco bring the "King of Bad Movies," Tommy Wiseau, onto the stage with him to accept the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy yesterday morning made it even more so. The Disaster Artist is based on a true story, a tale of failures, centered around the increasingly recognized "King of Bad Movies," Tommy Wiseau. In 2003, Tommy Wiseau made The Room, widely considered one of the worst films of the century. His close friend and the film's other protagonist, Greg Sestero, published a book in 2013 detailing the behind-the-scenes making of The Room. The Disaster Artist is adapted from this book (though Tommy Wiseau insists only 40% of the book's content is accurate). In the film, Tommy and Greg meet in an acting class, admire each other's talent and ambition, and then venture to Hollywood together. As expected, they don't find recognition in Hollywood, so Tommy decides to make his own film, writing, directing, and producing it himself. The result was The Room, dubbed "the Citizen Kane of bad movies."

I believe this film is so excellent and filled with so much humor because Tommy Wiseau himself is truly a legend. As the film's title suggests, it is essentially entirely about this legendary figure, and the screenwriters were very clever in centering the film's plot, humor, suspense, and character conflicts around three mysteries: Tommy's age, where he comes from, and how he got the money to make a film (reportedly, The Room cost nearly six million dollars to produce). In fact, fans themselves are very eager to know the answers to these three mysteries; they have the same questions in their minds. Thus, when watching this film, they naturally become engrossed in the plot, eager to unravel the puzzles just like the main characters in the film. Of course, we don't get all the answers after watching the film, but these three major mysteries provide ample comedic moments throughout the movie and create significant tension when narrating Tommy's conflicts with Greg and the crew, giving this inherently absurd story a strong dramatic effect. Beyond these plot details, what truly stands out is, of course, Tommy's accent. Every word he utters becomes a source of laughter and piques curiosity about his origin (he finally addressed this issue on Jimmy Kimmel's talk show while promoting the film).

While the entire film revolves around Tommy, and I call it an inspirational film, it never attempts to glorify him. From the beginning of the film, we know Tommy is an eccentric individual, or at least someone with a distinct personality who doesn't consider others' feelings. During the film's production, as a complete amateur, he constantly disregarded the feelings, physical and mental well-being of other actors, ignored the crew's opinions, and stubbornly insisted on his own way, even declaring that a director should be a dictator. In typical films, a character with such a personality and behavior would generally be a villain. But in The Disaster Artist, he not only doesn't make the audience dislike him but also reminds us of a profound friendship that might have existed in our own lives. In the film, Tommy decides to make The Room because he and his friend Greg had once promised to conquer the world together. Seeing that they were both "unrecognized talents," he made this decision. He dedicated so much time, money, and effort all because he wanted Greg to experience being a film protagonist and to make him happy and persist in his dream. However, during production, Greg grew increasingly doubtful of Tommy, and later many conflicts arose, jeopardizing their friendship and making Tommy feel betrayed. Ultimately, Tommy still delivers on his promise, holding a "grand" premiere in Hollywood, which Greg also attends. During the film's premiere, the audience mocked the film, deeply upsetting Tommy. Fortunately, Greg comforted him, helping him face the audience's reaction with a different attitude.

In our lives, we may also have met such a friend. In our youth, full of vigor, we wanted to conquer everything together and experienced many failures. When we feel disheartened, we might receive encouragement from a friend to try again; or we might choose to go our separate ways and live our own lives. Whether we are the Tommy who gave everything for a friend, or the Greg who decided to give up after setbacks and inadvertently made Tommy feel betrayed, such a friend has existed in our lives—a friend with whom we once had crazy fun, discussed ideals, and pursued dreams. Even if we have gone our separate ways and are no longer friends, this friendship once existed, an undeniable fact, and a past worth remembering and cherishing. Additionally, I believe many friends, like Tommy and Greg, have pursued their dreams, only to fail and be constantly mocked as "wasted youth" or "failures." But The Disaster Artist tells us that "a momentary failure doesn't mean forever," and fate often plays tricks on us in unexpected ways. Just when everyone thought Tommy and Greg had made such a terrible film that would live in infamy and never allow them to recover, who would have thought that The Room would become a beloved cult classic precisely because of how bad it was? Who would have thought that lines like "Oh hai Mark!" and "You are tearing me apart" would become part of popular culture? Who would have thought that 14 years later, the story of the film's making would be turned into a hugely popular movie? Who would have thought that 15 years later, this "bad" film would finally screen in Hong Kong and continually add more showings? Who would have thought that Tommy Wiseau would get the chance to stand on the Golden Globe stage with James Franco, becoming a Best Actor in a Comedy winner, all because he made a bad movie? So, I truly feel that The Disaster Artist is a very inspiring film, telling us that life is full of uncertainties, and even when we're at rock bottom, there might be a day when we can turn things around.

James Franco's portrayal of Tommy Wiseau in the film, earning him multiple Best Actor awards including the Golden Globe, is truly well-deserved. From the very beginning of the film, he embodies Tommy Wiseau with uncanny accuracy, perfectly capturing his accent, expressions, and gaze. Even though he plays an eccentric person, he doesn't just randomly act; he consistently embodies the character of Tommy, bringing his emotional shifts to life, especially his nervousness when he starts shooting the film in the middle of production, and his volatile temper during arguments with the crew. James Franco's ability to portray such an odd character so movingly and emotionally, engaging the audience, truly showcases his acting prowess. This also marks Dave Franco's first on-screen collaboration with his brother, and their chemistry is truly excellent. It's a pity that Dave's character isn't as prominent as Tommy's; he always remains in his shadow. Additionally, Seth Rogen, a frequent collaborator of James Franco, has a quite significant role in the film, and his performance is as comedic as ever. The film also features many celebrity cameos, including director Judd Apatow, J.J. Abrams, and others playing themselves. And Breaking Bad Emmy winner Bryan Cranston's cameo is both playful and provides excellent plot development for the film; I wonder if it actually happened or if the screenwriters created it for this movie?

As a film about The Room, how could The Disaster Artist not include its iconic scenes? In the film, the crew even recreates many classic scenes from The Room, which truly makes the audience laugh uncontrollably. I believe many viewers considered watching The Room before heading into The Disaster Artist. I feel that watching The Room first would allow you to better understand the humor of The Disaster Artist and enjoy the film more. Additionally, the film includes some of the production team's speculations about The Room, including whether the film reflects Tommy's personal experiences, or if he had been betrayed. This approach not only immerses the audience but also cleverly echoes the film's themes. Among them, the actress playing the "sick mother" in the film stated that her reason for insisting on participating was that she felt her treatment as an actress was already better than many others. These lines reminded me of Meryl Streep's speech at last year's Golden Globe Awards, where she spoke about the privilege of being an actor. This privilege is not just about the material comforts like living conditions and money, but about the opportunity to portray people from different places and backgrounds, experience different feelings, and allow audiences to understand and empathize with these characters' emotions. In this film, we can also understand Tommy's feelings—the feelings of a "loser" mocked by the world as the king of bad movies, who never gives up on his dream and never gives up on his friends.

(At the end of the film, you can enjoy Tommy's performance once again!)