James Franco directs and stars in this character study of filmmaker Tommy Wiseau, based on the book The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made (2014) by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell. There’s a tendency for biopics like this to pack all the entertaining content into the first half and then they drag on and on, struggling to tell the rest of the story. The Disaster Artist mostly avoids this pitfall.

The Disaster Artist (2017) traces the rise of mysterious and eccentric actor and filmmaker Tommy Wiseau and his tumultuous friendship with the much younger Greg Sestero. Wiseau and Greg meet in an acting class, where Greg is drawn to Wiseau’s fearlessness and determination.

The two decide to move to Los Angeles and pursue acting careers. While Greg is able to land a few bit roles, people are turned off by Wiseau’s strange behavior, accent, and overconfidence. Frustrated by lack of forward momentum, Wiseau decides to write, produce, and direct his own film starring Greg and himself.

The project begins with promise, but things quickly go south as it becomes apparent Wiseau has more confidence than skill or experience. He continually references Hollywood to justify his bizarre behavior (“we’re making real Hollywood movie!”) and refers back to other directors’ outrageous behavior to excuse his own. Ironically, what he produces is so bad it goes down in history as one of the worst films ever made.

I never watched The Room (2003), and I don’t understand people’s fascination with bad movies or why they become cult classics. I guess it’s a way to live vicariously or somehow feel attached to something unique, similar to why reality TV is so popular.

Although Wiseau’s erstwhile friend, Greg Sestero (Dave Franco), is the film’s protagonist, James Franco steals the show as Tommy Wiseau. Real-life brothers Greg and James Franco had genuine chemistry on screen, but James is clearly the stronger actor of the two and fully committed himself to the role.

Wiseau is fascinating because he wants all the accolades of stardom and celebrity, without doing any of the work. He thinks he can simply buy his way into infamy, and he actually succeeds, though not in the way he intended.

Much like the appeal of the film it’s centered on, The Disaster Artist is really only interesting in the same way a car accident is interesting to passing motorists. The audience wants to see why the movie is so bad, and learn the secrets of its mysterious creator.

The message of the movie is that entertaining people, even with a bad movie, is redeeming. Despite all the heartache, wasted time, and abuse, Wiseau was able to bring joy to his audience, and we want him to succeed because we all feel like the underdog and all have dreams of creating something other people will appreciate.

My teens made me watch The Room several years ago and I loved it for being so awful. And I love this movie for making me love the original movie in a whole new way! For the people out there in the world that didn't find any enjoyment in the original, then of course would never watch this, *sigh* I feel sorry for you because there is something so fun in the absurd and weirdness of The Room. The Disaster Artist is a gem that I kinda put off watching because I thought it might stress me out. I thought I would loathe Tommy, but I kinda felt sorry for him and I thought the friendship between Tommy and Greg is really touching. They are SUCH good friends! (Portlandia reference)

So maybe this isn't a five star film.. probably not for most. I, on the other hand love a good unsolicited laugh, and I'm no pushover for a laugh.. This movie is really funny, with an obvious all star cast who seem to have made this film out of the love for the story.. great cameo's and small role players. I would never give anything away, I just say if you need a break from the norm, and want a smile on your face.. give this gem a shot..

I think being familiar with the real story helped me enjoy the movie more. It keeps rolling at a good pace I thought and gave some bizarre insight into the history of the movie that I didn't know about since I didn't read the book. Franco played the lead well. Hard to knock the movie, they did a fine job retelling the story of this dude and his friend. For those wondering the two friends made a movie called The Room with some really head scratching and unintentionally hilarious scenes that became hits on YouTube over the years.

When I saw The Room, I was thinking "This film is terribly bad in a way that it's great". The Room is undeniably one of the worst movies ever made, as I loved it. It's total trash and it's phenomenal. I do not know what happened when the movie was being made but I'm glad that this was made. The Disaster Artist dives right into the process of two friends and the making of The Room. It's unbelievable that they both achieved a dream that was seemingly impossible despite everyone saying that they are not good enough for the Hollywood Life. They both stood up and achieved the impossible. This film is amazing. The Greatest Legends, Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero, did something that Hollywood has said to them both that they will never achieve. It's heart-felt, touching, and inspirational. Amazing work.

I have never seen the original movie but I loved this one. I loved the bond between the two lead actors and their desire to help each other make their dreams come true. James Franco was awesome!

I really have not seen something this good in a long time. I especially appreciated how the people around the main character were real friends to him, despite his extreme eccentricity, without putting pressure on him to be someone he isn't.

I just love this movie. James Franco was so brilliant in this film. It was very well done and if you have ever seen the real movie, THE ROOM, you'll get a great laugh out of this. Very fun movie to watch.