The Disaster Artist

Whatever opinion you may have about Tommy Wiseau’s person – optimistic visionary, tragic dreamer, or just a total failure who managed to attract too much attention – , it doesn’t matter in the slightest way. Here, it is James Franco who is in charge. And obviously, he’s on top of his game. Interestingly, The Disaster Artist completely nails it. Above all, the cast is on point, the roles are performed with authenticity and, what’s more, there’s a delightful cameo every two minutes (the best one coming just after the closing credits, so make sure you watch till the end). Of course, you’d better be familiar with The Room if you want to enjoy the second half of the film fully. During the viewing, I had a feeling the creators had a great time shooting the movie and went out of their way to convey their passion to the audience. And this in itself makes my day. (07/01/2018)

The comparison to Burton's Ed Wood, which many commentators resort to, is logical and The Disaster Artist does not come out of it with honor in any way. James Franco still has a long way to go to be a master and above all, he lacks imagination. It's simply not a playful Burton-like film and it can't do anything other than parasitize on the legendary flop The Room. There is nothing else here than mechanical copying, while Tommy Wiseau is portrayed as a completely uncharismatic and, unfortunately, also downright annoying guy, who annoys the viewer with his performances. Much more could have been extracted from the source material. Overall impression: 45%. (31/12/2021)

It would be a stretch to expect a brilliant film, because Franco doesn’t quite manage to spread the plot comprehensively across multiple characters or motivations and move purposefully in one direction. The charm of The Disaster Artist lies more in its quirkiness than its responsibility, more in its original appeal to all those who like the Tommy Wiseau phenomenon, or are just beginning to like him thanks to this celebratory fad. An energetic experience that I'll gladly watch again several times just for my own love of the craft of filmmaking, and I'll cherish that love over and over again, just as I did with the endearingly bad but no less earnest The Room. (09/01/2018)

I haven't seen The Room and this kind of film is not exactly my cup of tea, but James Franco manages to impress with his exceptional acting and I even had a few good laughs. I enjoyed the behind the scenes during filming and a few familiar faces in shorter roles. An interesting film. 75% (05/01/2018)

What a bizarre film! What else would you expect from a film about a total freak who decides to write, produce and make a film? Considering the kind of crap this was, I had a surprisingly good time, largely due to the performance of James Franco who made me laugh like never before, which was a huge contrast to his somewhat wooden brother. (09/09/2018)