Review: The Disaster Artist (15)

Independently financed to the reported tune of six million US dollars, romantic drama The Room premiered in 2003 and has subsequently gained a cult following as one of the worst films of all time.
CULT MOVIE: James Franco as Tommy Wiseau in The Disaster Artist.CULT MOVIE: James Franco as Tommy Wiseau in The Disaster Artist.
CULT MOVIE: James Franco as Tommy Wiseau in The Disaster Artist.

In dual roles as director and actor, James Franco pays tribute to The Room with this comedic dramatisation of the making of the film, based on the memoir of the same title penned by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell. Greg (Dave Franco) is an aspiring performer, who fails to impress his tutor (Melanie Griffith) or the other students in his acting class. He is mesmerised by fellow student Tommy Wiseau (James Franco), who is utterly fearless in the spotlight. The two men bond and Tommy invites Greg to accompany him to Hollywood to seek their fortune. Almost immediately, Greg lands an agent (Sharon Stone), but she fails to secure him sufficient work to pay the bills. Meanwhile, Tommy faces endless rejections.

Unperturbed by Hollywood’s reluctance to open its doors to them, the pair agree to make their own film, working from a script that Tommy thrashed out on his typewriter. They hire an experienced crew including script supervisor (Seth Rogen), director of photography Raphael Smadja (Paul Scheer). Tommy nabs the lead role for himself and casts Greg in another plum role.

In selected cinemas

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