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1.07k reviews for:
The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made
Greg Sestero
4.29 AVERAGE
1.07k reviews for:
The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made
Greg Sestero
4.29 AVERAGE
I was going to write a full review of this, but really everything I has to say boils down to the following list of directions.
One: Watch the movie “The Room.” (IMMEDIATELY.)
Two: Read this book.
Three: See “The Disaster Artist.”
Bonus points if you choose to listen to either of the How Did This Get Made? podcast episodes about it.
Double bonus points if you, like me, develop a crush on Jason Mantzoukas following the above.
That is all.
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review to come
One: Watch the movie “The Room.” (IMMEDIATELY.)
Two: Read this book.
Three: See “The Disaster Artist.”
Bonus points if you choose to listen to either of the How Did This Get Made? podcast episodes about it.
Double bonus points if you, like me, develop a crush on Jason Mantzoukas following the above.
That is all.
---
review to come
The Room has been a major part of me and my husband's lives for many years. We quote it on a regular basis, mainly "I'm fed up with this whorld," "you are tearing me apahrt, Lisa!" and "keep the change." This book just made the movie even better, and I loved every single second of it - the book, I mean, not the movie. I laughed continuously and read several parts aloud to my husband.
The book jumps between two time frames: Greg trying to make a career out of acting while getting to know Tommy, and the making of the movie. I am in absolute awe of the human (?) that is Tommy Wiseau, and I now have a greater appreciation (is that the right word? Probably not) of the movie and the man behind it. The ridiculousness went above and beyond what I was expecting, which was only helped by the fabulous and snarky writing.
If you haven't seen The Room, watch it immediately and then read this book. And then re-watch the movie to fully appreciate it. And then watch it with Riff-Trax a few times.
The book jumps between two time frames: Greg trying to make a career out of acting while getting to know Tommy, and the making of the movie. I am in absolute awe of the human (?) that is Tommy Wiseau, and I now have a greater appreciation (is that the right word? Probably not) of the movie and the man behind it. The ridiculousness went above and beyond what I was expecting, which was only helped by the fabulous and snarky writing.
If you haven't seen The Room, watch it immediately and then read this book. And then re-watch the movie to fully appreciate it. And then watch it with Riff-Trax a few times.
The Disaster Artist changed how I saw The Room. It added a dimension to the film seeing the autobiographical roots that informed the script. It made the film no better in my opinion, but, perhaps, more understandable in a certain light.
As a work of non-fiction, The Disaster Artist is quite admirable. While it, perhaps unavoidably, paints everybody that isn't Tommy Wiseau in a decent light, it doesn't sink to character assassination of the man who is. It feels both matter of fact and sympathetic towards him.
The one question remaining, which perhaps will never been answered, is what Tommy Wiseau thought of this book. A basic internet search only brought forth speculation. Perhaps it is only wish fulfillment that at some point he said Greg was "Tearing him apart".
As a work of non-fiction, The Disaster Artist is quite admirable. While it, perhaps unavoidably, paints everybody that isn't Tommy Wiseau in a decent light, it doesn't sink to character assassination of the man who is. It feels both matter of fact and sympathetic towards him.
The one question remaining, which perhaps will never been answered, is what Tommy Wiseau thought of this book. A basic internet search only brought forth speculation. Perhaps it is only wish fulfillment that at some point he said Greg was "Tearing him apart".
A must read for anyone wanting to get into filmmaking for a detailed outline of exactly what NOT to do and for fans of The Room for finding out that the film and Tommy Wiseau were even more bizarre behind the scenes than in front of the camera.
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Step 1. Watch The Room, the best worst movie you will ever see.
Step 2. Laugh for days
Step 3. Read this book so you can kinda sorta get the jist of what was happening in that movie.
In a surprising twist, Greg Sestero was able to write a memoir of his life around his friendship with Tommy Wiseau. He really should get more credit for this hilariously well-crafted narrative (also, a shout out to co-author, Tom Bissell). He accomplished many things: making the reader/fans understand his motivations, Tommy's craziness, and the relationships that were formed or broken through The Room. I was pleasantly surprised. And the book was aptly named based on the disaster that is Mr. Wiseau.
Step 2. Laugh for days
Step 3. Read this book so you can kinda sorta get the jist of what was happening in that movie.
In a surprising twist, Greg Sestero was able to write a memoir of his life around his friendship with Tommy Wiseau. He really should get more credit for this hilariously well-crafted narrative (also, a shout out to co-author, Tom Bissell). He accomplished many things: making the reader/fans understand his motivations, Tommy's craziness, and the relationships that were formed or broken through The Room. I was pleasantly surprised. And the book was aptly named based on the disaster that is Mr. Wiseau.
Alriiiight. Still the best book I've ever read.
A truly bizarre character study of what maybe is the most determined movie director, Tommy Wiseau. Told by one of his only close friends, Greg Sestero. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Greg Sestero which was great! He did Tommy's strange accent very well, as I suppose you would have to after spending so much time together. I feel like I finished the book with new questions replacing the old questions about Tommy Wiseau I had when I started. In other words, Tommy is a mysterious dude. You can learn a lot from this book, but you are still completely in the dark about some aspects of his life. I also learned more about an actors journey to get work (I knew nothing of the subject before) so that was quite interesting.
funny
informative
medium-paced