(WARRENSBURG, Mo.) – If you haven’t heard of “The Room,” it’s pretty much considered to be one of the worst movies in film history, and that’s saying a lot. It’s filled with bad everything: acting, writing, camerawork, directing, you name it, it’s terrible.
Despite being hailed as being unbelievably awful, “The Room” has become very popular. After its premier in 2003, it created a cult-following and led to late night movie screenings, causing the most interesting fan base since “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Fans can quote this entire film, “Anyway, how’s your sex life?” for example.
Why are people such big fans of possibly the worst movie ever created? You see, “The Room” is so badly executed, it’s actually really funny and enjoyable to watch. It’s one of the greatest unintentional comedies, joining the ranks of so bad it’s good movies such as “Troll 2” and “Plan 9 from Outer Space.”
“The Room” is so iconic, a book was released about the making of it called, “The Disaster Artist,” written by Tom Bissell and actual cast-member Greg Sestero – he plays “Oh, hi, Mark.” Last year, the book was adapted into a film directed by James Franco.
Ironically, the film about “The Room” has received a lot of critical acclaim. Having seen the film, I can confirm that it’s a really good movie. This makes “The Disaster Artist” one of the best movies about making bad ones, along with “Ed Wood” by Tim Burton.
Before going further, I would like to mention that “The Room” was written, produced, starred and directed by a single person: Tommy Wiseau. Some filmmakers can blame their bad movies on other people. Wiseau can’t.
Now how can I truly describe this movie… it’s difficult. Honestly, the best way is to see “The Room” for yourself. It’s almost impossible to explain. How can a film really be that bad? Why are they playing football while wearing tuxedoes? Why is Wiseau always laughing? And why are there pictures of spoons in the background? All these questions and so many more will not be answered. And that’s what makes this movie so bizarre and so great.
The plot focuses on a simple love triangle between Johnny, played by Wiseau of course, his “future wife” Lisa and his “best friend” Mark. The reason I am putting quotes around their roles is because the movie reminds viewers who they are every five minutes, as if you forgot.
There are many scenes in “The Room” that can only be described as pointless. They have nothing to do with the rest of the story. Lisa’s mother causally mentions she has breast cancer and it’s never brought up again. Everyone decides to play football every now and then – there’s a lot of football in this movie. Johnny’s friend, Denny, gets into a drug-deal-gone-wrong situation and like Lisa’s mother’s health condition, it’s never addressed again.
By the way, Denny is my favorite character. He acts so creepy around Johnny and Lisa, especially when they’re about to have sex. Denny is either a complete pervert or a potential serial killer, or both.
Fair warning, if you don’t like unnecessary sex scenes, then you will not enjoy “The Room.” Not only are there a few, but they are done so poorly, it’s uncomfortable to watch, but it’s also kind of funny.
My only critique for the worst movie ever is that it’s a little dull at times, but if you’re willing to put up with it you’ll be rewarded by some A-quality comedy.
The most confusing part of “The Room” is that Tommy Wiseau thought of it as a masterpiece. He wanted to create a “great drama,” like a Tennessee Williams’ play or a James Dean movie. After seeing the final product, most directors would’ve changed their names in the closing credits to Alan Smithee, but not him. After its release, with viewers finding it very funny, he has since claimed it was suppose to be a comedy instead.
Wiseau is known to be very touchy about his movie, he’s accepted all the money that it’s made, but he’s gone after people he feels have “criticized” him. Wiseau filed an injunction last year against a Canadian documentary about his film “Room Full of Spoons.”  “Ontario Superior Court Judge Markus Koehnen dismissed all claims,” according to the Toronto Star.
A few years ago, he went after YouTuber Doug Walker, known for reviewing bad movies as the character Nostalgia Critic, for making a review of “The Room.” This prompted Walker to parody Tommy Wiseau in a video “NC: Tommy Wiseau Show,” followed by more videos and even an interview.  Well, I hope Wiseau doesn’t have a problem with this article.
To be clear, this movie was intended to be taken seriously. That might be the funniest thing about “The Room.” It acts so dramatic. The film feels like it was supposed to be very intense, making it even more hilarious. In one scene, Johnny is so “tormented” by his girlfriend, causing him to yell, “You’re tearing me apart, Lisa!!” It was supposed to be an emotional moment, paying homage from the famous quote “you’re tearing me apart,” from the movie “Rebel Without a Cause.” But in that movie, James Dean delivers the line with a powerful performance. In “The Room,” the line is so badly delivered, it makes me burst into laughter.
I feel that everyone going into to filmmaking should watch “The Room” for training purposes, it’s a textbook example of everything you shouldn’t do when making a film.
If you want to see a movie that is so bad it’ll make you laugh, please give this film a watch. If you’re a fan of “Mystery Science Theater 3000” then you will especially like “The Room.” Honestly, it deserves its title as the “Citizen Kane of bad movies,” and I had a fun time watching it.
I usually get annoyed when I see bad films, but for “The Room,” I’ll gladly make an exception.