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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
informative
slow-paced
Book gifted from publisher
I watched THE ROOM for the first time a few years ago, introduced to the best worst movie ever by my partner. And I was enthralled. Getting to read the making of was fascinating. Learning about how scenes were made, how people met, the ups and so many downs of the process. It definitely made me want to watch the movie again.
I did find it to be too long and the back and forth of different time periods was sometimes confusing. But overall it was an enjoyable read. My favorite part was close to the end, discussing the flower shop scene, which is my favorite scene. “Hi doggie.”
I watched THE ROOM for the first time a few years ago, introduced to the best worst movie ever by my partner. And I was enthralled. Getting to read the making of was fascinating. Learning about how scenes were made, how people met, the ups and so many downs of the process. It definitely made me want to watch the movie again.
I did find it to be too long and the back and forth of different time periods was sometimes confusing. But overall it was an enjoyable read. My favorite part was close to the end, discussing the flower shop scene, which is my favorite scene. “Hi doggie.”
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
Full disclosure, I have never seen the movie "The Room", but I have seen numerous clips from the movie and know a decent amount about the movie, the plot and the notorious reputation that follows the movie and all those who have touched it. I did see the movie "The Disaster Artist" before reading the book the movie is based on. I was surprised to see how nicely the movie played up Tommy and how innocent and naive they made Greg out to be. In the book, Tommy isn't portrayed in such a flattering light, but Greg does really seem to express what is so captivating about Tommy. What I liked best about the Disaster Artists was the author's attempt to understand Tommy since he is a character like none other. What I liked the least is Tommy. He is an incredibly uncomfortable and bizarre person. The book was an entertaining read, but Tommy was exhausting and started to really annoy me, which made it a little challenging to continue with the book. What can you say? Tommy is like a train wreck that you can't look away from.
I still have yet to actually watch THE ROOM, yet over the years I have seen so many clips, read articles and listened to podcasts about it, seen the James Franco movie and now read the book that I am confident I could easily hold a lengthy conversation about this film.
The best way to appreciate this book is actually not by reading it but by listening to the audio book that the author reads himself and where he imitates Tommy Wiseau's idiosyncratic speech patterns, which IMHO is essential to truly appreciate this biography.
Loved listening to every minute of this. Now just need to finally come around and watch THE ROOM properly.
The best way to appreciate this book is actually not by reading it but by listening to the audio book that the author reads himself and where he imitates Tommy Wiseau's idiosyncratic speech patterns, which IMHO is essential to truly appreciate this biography.
Loved listening to every minute of this. Now just need to finally come around and watch THE ROOM properly.
emotional
funny
informative
medium-paced
As a novel, I give it three stars, people unfamiliar with The Room might be intrigued. However, if you have ever seen The Room more than once, you need to read this book. It reads like a prequel to the movie, highly enjoyable. Five out of five as a Room fan.
Much like the film The Room, this was a great time that I wouldn’t necessarily recommend to everyone.
There are very few books that, while I am reading them, I actually say, "Please don't end, little book! I will be so sad." This was one of those books where I was literally counting down to the last page with dread...I wanted my little book to go on and on and then just when I thought it was about to end, for it to pop up and say "Oh hai Patti!" and then keep going.
Where to begin? Tommy Wiseau, man...the best thing I can come up with is that he got into the mob (while he was renting his little yo-yo stand next to the mob restaurant) and so he has to launder money for them from now until eternity. I realize that this makes no sense if you haven't read the book, so I beg you to READ THE BOOK.
I am a huge fan of The Room. It is the biggest steaming pile of crap I've ever seen, yet the director/producer/writer/actor/exec producer Tommy Wiseau has this sort of creepy earnestness about him that makes you hate him, but also sort of root for him. I truly believe that this man thought he was making the next Citizen Kane and would go on to sweep the Oscars. I think he *still* thinks that and is practicing his Oscar speech as I type.
I mean, who amongst us hasn't pretended to win an Oscar and deliver a speech telling all of your haters to suck your ass? I sure have! We all have dreams, and Wiseau is no different. The only difference, really, is that we aren't all batshit insane and laundering money for the mob, thus allowing us to invest millions of dollars in something that the guy who makes the Oscar statues wouldn't wipe his ass with.
So who is Wiseau? The book is written by the guy who played Mark (Greg Sestero) and another writer. Greg met Tommy years before this cat turd of a movie was made and believes that he was really Tommy's only friend during those years. Greg seems like a nice enough guy...like the rest of us, he had big dreams of striking it rich someday. In his case, he set his sights on acting and headed to Hollywood. His friendship with Tommy actually made the move possible in that Tommy has a place there (we don't know if owned or rented it...Tommy couldn't really keep it straight) and let Greg stay there for $200 a month. But as Greg says many times...where in the hell is the money coming from? Tommy also has a house in San Francisco and, we learn later, a gigantic commercial building in a prime location in SF.
The book switches between the making of the shithouse film that is The Room and Greg's friendship with Tommy and later his (Greg's) early attempts at becoming an actor. Again, Greg seems like a nice guy. I though the got an agent pretty easily, but maybe that's how things are done? Nevertheless, he admitted to some silly mistakes that he made and how he blew some auditions and such. During all of this, Tommy's hulking, mismatched face is lurking just out of sight...he might drop in here and there, place some calls, etc.
Something happened to Tommy to send him off the deep end and he dropped out of Greg's life for a bit. But then Wiseau came back with a vengeance--and with the desire to make a movie starring himself. It was going to be some epic love story dealing with betrayal and lust and blah blah blah.
How bad was it? One of the crew members (DP? I can't remember) actually had a "Giggle Tent" where he would go and laugh over the dailies. Three crews quit on Wiseau. In the nude scenes, Wiseau actually *pointed his ass* at the crew. In the flower shop scene, that "hai doggie!" thing was real...Wiseau did not notice the dog that is clearly sitting there until like the 14th take and when he saw the dog, he was so pleased that he exclaimed, "Hai doggie!" and somehow that print made it in the movie. Greg had to actually say a line that went "put your stupid thoughts in your wallet". Wiseau inexplicably had the men all put on tuxedos and throw a football around and even more inexplicably had them to all make "cheap cheap cheap" sounds (you can see it in all its glory in the film). And then, to fill up the auditorium on the night of the premiere, the publicity folks actually hired character extras, so Elvis Presley lookalikes filled the seats.
This is the movie that Wiseau invested millions in, including millions for a billboard that shone over Hollywood like an angel circling the sun with a lamp. (It was displayed for five years, by the way).
Again though, you can't hate the guy. Again, who *hasn't* had a secret dream of being a movie star? Seeing yourself in a movie, premiered before all of your friends and loved ones?
And that is the other reason you can't hate Wiseau...there is that scene in the movie where he has a surprise party and appears to be surrounded by friends and family. That is what Wiseau wanted for his life...to have a job at the bank, a woman, and friends and family for his birthday. In order to get it, he had to sink millions of his (or the mob's) money into a horrible, misogynistic film. I mean, his PR people had to hire *extras* to come to his movie. He doesn't *have* friends and loved ones, so he had to create them.
By the end of the book, we still have no idea who Wiseau is, where he comes from, or even how old he is. All we really have of him is this horrific movie that makes us (okay, me) laugh until we (I) cry. He will live forever as the man who lies on his bed, fucks Lisa's red dress, and then blows his brains out. At the end of the day, can any of us hope for any better legacy?
(Note that I didn't talk much about how horribly misogynistic this movie is. It is. It really is. I have to overlook that aspect in order to be able to laugh hysterically as I throw my plastic spoons at the screen, and that is not easy to do. I honestly feel like Wiseau didn't know any better...he's almost like the 5 year old who thinks girls are icky and smell funny...he's dumb, but not malicious. That's what I'm thinking anyway, so I can continue to enjoy this spectacle).
Where to begin? Tommy Wiseau, man...the best thing I can come up with is that he got into the mob (while he was renting his little yo-yo stand next to the mob restaurant) and so he has to launder money for them from now until eternity. I realize that this makes no sense if you haven't read the book, so I beg you to READ THE BOOK.
I am a huge fan of The Room. It is the biggest steaming pile of crap I've ever seen, yet the director/producer/writer/actor/exec producer Tommy Wiseau has this sort of creepy earnestness about him that makes you hate him, but also sort of root for him. I truly believe that this man thought he was making the next Citizen Kane and would go on to sweep the Oscars. I think he *still* thinks that and is practicing his Oscar speech as I type.
I mean, who amongst us hasn't pretended to win an Oscar and deliver a speech telling all of your haters to suck your ass? I sure have! We all have dreams, and Wiseau is no different. The only difference, really, is that we aren't all batshit insane and laundering money for the mob, thus allowing us to invest millions of dollars in something that the guy who makes the Oscar statues wouldn't wipe his ass with.
So who is Wiseau? The book is written by the guy who played Mark (Greg Sestero) and another writer. Greg met Tommy years before this cat turd of a movie was made and believes that he was really Tommy's only friend during those years. Greg seems like a nice enough guy...like the rest of us, he had big dreams of striking it rich someday. In his case, he set his sights on acting and headed to Hollywood. His friendship with Tommy actually made the move possible in that Tommy has a place there (we don't know if owned or rented it...Tommy couldn't really keep it straight) and let Greg stay there for $200 a month. But as Greg says many times...where in the hell is the money coming from? Tommy also has a house in San Francisco and, we learn later, a gigantic commercial building in a prime location in SF.
The book switches between the making of the shithouse film that is The Room and Greg's friendship with Tommy and later his (Greg's) early attempts at becoming an actor. Again, Greg seems like a nice guy. I though the got an agent pretty easily, but maybe that's how things are done? Nevertheless, he admitted to some silly mistakes that he made and how he blew some auditions and such. During all of this, Tommy's hulking, mismatched face is lurking just out of sight...he might drop in here and there, place some calls, etc.
Something happened to Tommy to send him off the deep end and he dropped out of Greg's life for a bit. But then Wiseau came back with a vengeance--and with the desire to make a movie starring himself. It was going to be some epic love story dealing with betrayal and lust and blah blah blah.
How bad was it? One of the crew members (DP? I can't remember) actually had a "Giggle Tent" where he would go and laugh over the dailies. Three crews quit on Wiseau. In the nude scenes, Wiseau actually *pointed his ass* at the crew. In the flower shop scene, that "hai doggie!" thing was real...Wiseau did not notice the dog that is clearly sitting there until like the 14th take and when he saw the dog, he was so pleased that he exclaimed, "Hai doggie!" and somehow that print made it in the movie. Greg had to actually say a line that went "put your stupid thoughts in your wallet". Wiseau inexplicably had the men all put on tuxedos and throw a football around and even more inexplicably had them to all make "cheap cheap cheap" sounds (you can see it in all its glory in the film). And then, to fill up the auditorium on the night of the premiere, the publicity folks actually hired character extras, so Elvis Presley lookalikes filled the seats.
This is the movie that Wiseau invested millions in, including millions for a billboard that shone over Hollywood like an angel circling the sun with a lamp. (It was displayed for five years, by the way).
Again though, you can't hate the guy. Again, who *hasn't* had a secret dream of being a movie star? Seeing yourself in a movie, premiered before all of your friends and loved ones?
And that is the other reason you can't hate Wiseau...there is that scene in the movie where he has a surprise party and appears to be surrounded by friends and family. That is what Wiseau wanted for his life...to have a job at the bank, a woman, and friends and family for his birthday. In order to get it, he had to sink millions of his (or the mob's) money into a horrible, misogynistic film. I mean, his PR people had to hire *extras* to come to his movie. He doesn't *have* friends and loved ones, so he had to create them.
By the end of the book, we still have no idea who Wiseau is, where he comes from, or even how old he is. All we really have of him is this horrific movie that makes us (okay, me) laugh until we (I) cry. He will live forever as the man who lies on his bed, fucks Lisa's red dress, and then blows his brains out. At the end of the day, can any of us hope for any better legacy?
(Note that I didn't talk much about how horribly misogynistic this movie is. It is. It really is. I have to overlook that aspect in order to be able to laugh hysterically as I throw my plastic spoons at the screen, and that is not easy to do. I honestly feel like Wiseau didn't know any better...he's almost like the 5 year old who thinks girls are icky and smell funny...he's dumb, but not malicious. That's what I'm thinking anyway, so I can continue to enjoy this spectacle).
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced