The Room-Maria's Take

"You're tearing me apart, Lisa!!!"

Wow. I want the professor from The Fantastic Voyage to shrink me down so I can ride a spaceship into the mind of Tommy Wiseau. I love this guy, he lived his dream. He actually got financing for perhaps the most ridiculous and contrived film I have ever seen. As a kid with lofty ambitions, The Room was actually inspiring. If this piece of crap can actually get made and find an audience, there is hope for the rest of us!

Vaguely telling the story of Johnny (Wiseau), The Room flirts with ideas of love, betrayal, and community. Of course, it never coherently addresses these themes, but one can guess these were the emotions that inspired the script. It would be too easy to say this movie was God-awful. I mean, everything was wrong with it. Instead, what I found to be so compelling was trying to guess what was going on inside the actors'/production teams' minds as the film progressed. I'm sure a paycheck had something to do with their involvement, but they all look so damn sincere. If they knew just how bad the material was, I'd never guess it based on their performances. I think the key to making a dreadful piece of cinema is believing in it. One can't just go out and make a bad movie, there has to be faith and hope. In many ways I am thrilled this movie is gaining cult status because these people really did put so much of themselves in their roles. It reminded me of something the "company" in Waiting for Guffman would produce. In spite of all its faults, the film never apologizes, rather it thrives on its mediocrity. Other films set to be discussed here know how awful they are, you can see it in the actors' eyes. But in Wiseau's work, there is nothing but pride.